The GNU Binutils project has released version 2.44, introducing several improvements to its set of binary utilities, which are essential for the GNU toolchain.
New Features in the Assembler (GAS)
One of the most notable changes in this release is the support for new Intel Diamond Rapids instructions, including AMX-AVX512, AMX-FP8, AMX-MOVRS, AMX-TF32, and AMX-TRANSPOSE. Additional instructions, such as MOVRS and MSR_IMM, have also been added, along with support for AVX10.2 and new Zhaoxin instructions like GMI, PadLock PHE2, and RNG2.
The assembler has also improved support for multiple RISC-V standard and vendor-specific extensions.
Enhancements in the Linker (LD)
Among the key updates in LD, the default maximum page size for LoongArch has been increased from 16KB to 64KB. Additionally, there is now support for mixing LTO and non-LTO code in relocatable outputs.
Another significant addition is the new “–build-id=xx” option, which enables the use of the xxhash library to generate a 128-bit hash, offering 2–4x faster performance than MD5 or SHA1.
Improved Support in gprofng and Other Tools
GNU Binutils 2.44 now includes support for hardware event counters on Neoverse-N1, AmpereOne, and AppliedMicro processors. Additionally, support for the Nios II architecture has been removed, as it has reached end-of-life.
Gradual Removal of the Gold Linker
Starting with this release, the binutils-2.44 tarball no longer includes the Gold linker, which has been deprecated. Its source code is still available in binutils-with-gold-2.44, but unless volunteers step up to maintain it, it will be removed in future versions.
Availability and Downloads
The GNU Binutils 2.44 source files are available at the following links:
- GNU FTP: ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
- Sourceware: sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases
With this update, GNU Binutils continues to evolve, providing compatibility with the latest architectures while improving performance and security.
