D017 - Relocations are classified here and applied by the consumer

Status: decided Date: 2026-09-26

selfish-elf::reloc reads both relocation tables, splits info into type and symbol index, and says which types need a symbol or thread-local storage. An unknown type has no name. Applying a relocation stays with the consumer.

Why: which types need what is a fact about the format. What to do when a symbol does not resolve is policy, and the consumers differ: an emulator tallies what it skipped, a builder fails.

Rejected:

• Applying relocations here: forces one consumer's failure policy on the others.
• A generated label for an unknown type: an unhandled type stops being noticed.