Executables
From Just Solve the File Format Problem
Revision as of 15:06, 2 January 2021 by Dan Tobias (Talk | contribs)
Container formats for machine executable code. These often define different sections to be loaded into memory. Some formats may be compatible with different CPU architectures.
Contents |
Directly executable
- a.out
- Amiga Hunk
- Atari ST executable (.prg)
- COFF — The Common Object File Format, an executable format originally designed for use in UNIX System V
- Commodore 64 binary executable (.prg)
- DOS executable (.com) — 16 bit DOS executable
- EPOC/Symbian executable
- EXE — MS-DOS, MS Windows, and others
- MS-DOS EXE
- New Executable (NE)
- Linear Executable
- Portable Executable (PE, actually a COFF variant)
- Executable and Linkable Format (ELF)
- GOFF
- Intel HEX
- iOS app (.app) (see also IPA for archived version, and Mobile Provision file for provision file accompanying apps)
- Mach-O
- Multiboot
- OS/360 Object File Format
- PRC (Palm OS)
- Psion IMG/APP
- Psion OPO/OPA
(can't be run by themselves, but are used at runtime by other executables)
- Borland Graphics Interface (.bgi)
- DOS device driver (.sys)
- Dynamic library (OS X or iOS) (.dylib)
- Dynamic-link library (Windows) (.dll)
- Turbo Pascal chain file (.chn)
Resource data used by executables and sometimes embedded in them
See Resources.
Meta-info files used in execution of programs/packages
- Assembly manifest (Windows) (.manifest)
- Java Network Launching Protocol
- Mobile Provision file
- Program information file (PIF)
Virtual machine code
(see Wikipedia:UVC-based preservation for use of virtual machines in archival preservation)
- ART (Android Runtime)
- BEAM (Erlang)
- Bytecode (or p-code) — programs "compiled" into machine-independent code that loads or runs more quickly than raw interpreted source code; runs in an interpreter
- Dalvik Executable (DEX; virtual machine used in Android)
- Java bytecode (aka 'class file')
- Lingo bytecode
- Olive (executable archive embedding a virtual machine emulating original environment)
- PYC (Python bytecode)
- UCSD p-system p-code
- Universal Machine (ICFP programming contest 2006)
- WebAssembly
- Z-code
Macros or automated scripting
- ActiveMime
- Batch file
- Bourne shell script
- C shell script
- DoItAgain
- Photoshop Action File (.atn)
- Sikuli
- Windows Script File
- WordPerfect macro (.wpm, .wcm)
For additional formats, see Programming Languages.
Executable compression
See also
- Source code, for code in a higher-level programming language that needs to be compiled, assembled, or interpreted
- Programming Languages
- Development, for other files used in the development process, including object and library files that get linked into a finished executable
- Archiving, for some forms of self-extracting archives and installer packages
