Currently, for any extern variable, if it doesn't have
section attribution, it will be put into a default ".extern"
btf DataSec. The initial design is to put every extern
variable in a DataSec so libbpf can use it.
But later on, libbpf actually requires extern variables
to put into special sections, e.g., ".kconfig", ".ksyms", etc.
so they can be used properly based on section name.
Andrii mentioned since ".extern" variables are
not actually used, it makes sense to remove it from
the compiler so libbpf does not need to deal with it,
esp. for static linking. The BTF for these extern variables
is still generated.
With this patch, I tested kernel selftests/bpf and all tests
passed. Indeed, removing ".extern" DataSec seems having no
impact.
Differential Revision: https://reviews.llvm.org/D100392
a285bdb56f