# ia32 a.out emulation

## Phenax

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to Linux, so I don't have a great history.

Anyways, I'm on a AMD64, and was wondering exactly what ia32 a.out emulation does. I have ia32 emulation enabled but am confused as to what 'a.out' emulation is. By default, if I compile one of my projects with GCC it outputs a a.out, so it's kind of confusing. I've disabled it with no problems but would like to know what exactly it is.

Is a.out the predecessor to ELF or something?

Thanks.

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## NeddySeagoon

Phenax,

a.out and elf are the two binary file formats used on the IA32 platform for program files.

Most things are in elf format - aout is rarely used.

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## mudrii

if you on AMD64 and you profile is multilib it is better to have 32bit emulation in you kernel especially for the Desktop if you you no-multilib than you could dissable  ia32 a.out emulation

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