TILIB
TILIB it's a utility to create a custom type libraries for IDA Pro. You can download it from My Hex-Rays Portal.
This small utility creates type library (til) files for IDA Pro. Its functionality overlaps with "Parse C header file..." from IDA Pro. However, this utility is easier to use and provides more control over the output. Also, it can handle the preprocessor symbols, while the built-in command ignores them.
The utility takes a C header file and extracts all type information from it. The extracted type information is stored in an internal format as a type library file. Type library files can be loaded and used in IDA Pro by opening the Type Library Window and pressing Insert.
TILIB support only C header files. C++ files (classes, templates, etc) are not supported, but some popular C++ keywords are recognized and properly handled. For example, TILIB knows about the inline keyword and properly skips the definition of the inline function.
Installation
Just copy the tilib executable file into the IDA Pro directory.
If you prefer to keep it in another directory, you will need to specify the location of the ida.hlp file using the NLSPATH variable:
set NLSPATH=c:\program files\ida
Please note that you do not need to define this variable if you just copy the tilib executable file to the IDA Pro directory.
Usage
If started without parameters, the utility displays a short explanation. Below are some command line samples.
Parse a header file and create a new type library:
tilib -c -hinput_header_file output_til_file
-c
means to create a new type library-h
denotes the name of the input file to read
If you need to parse multiple files into one type library, you may create a text file with #include directives and specify it as the input.
TILIB can handle input files for Visual Studio, Borland, GCC out of the box. Please check the configuration files for them in the archive (*.cfg).
If you need to fine-tune TILIB for another compiler (or unusual compiler settings), feel free to copy the provided configuration files and modify them.
TILIB is not very good at error handling and some error messages may be quite unhelpful (e.g. syntax error). To alleviate this problem, use the -z
switch. If this switch is specified, TILIB will create a .i file with the preprocessed contents. All recognized type names are prepended with @, like this: @my_type_name.
In some urgent cases, the -e
switch may be used to ignore any parsing errors. Please note that the problematic type definitions will be skipped in this mode. This switch may be used together with the -R switch to allow type redeclarations.
If your input file uses another header file (e.g. windows.h), you may opt to use the vc6win.til file instead of parsing it again. For that, just use the -b
switch and specify vc6win.til as the base til. TILIB will load the contents of the specified file into the memory and parse the input file. All definitions from windows.h, including the preprocessor definitions, will be avaible:
tilib -c -hinput_header_file -bbase_til_file output_til_file
TILIB can also be used to list the contents of a til file:
tilib -l input_til_file
If the -c
switch is not specified, TILIB uses the specified til file as the input and as the output file. This mode allows you to modify existing til files.
How to create preprocessor macro enums?
TILIB can also convert selected preprocessor macros into enums. If the input file has lines like the following:
#define MY_SYMBOL_ONE 1
#define MY_SYMBOL_TWO 2
#define MY_SYMBOL_THREE 3
they can be converted to enum and used in IDA Pro. This is a three step process. At the first step, we create a .mac file (note the -M
switch):
tilib -c -Moutput_mac_file -hinput_header_file output_til_file
The second step is to edit the generated MAC file: to remove undesired macro definitions and regroup macros if necessary. Macro group names start at the beginning of a line, symbol definitions are indented:
MY_SYMBOL
MY_SYMBOL_ONE 1
MY_SYMBOL_TWO 2
MY_SYMBOL_THREE 3
Feel free to edit the macro file to your taste.
It is also possible to describe the changes to the macro group names and rerun TILIB to regenerate the macro file. There are two ways to describe the changes:
Through the -g[nb]X:Y command-line options. If the regex X matches the macro name (n) or the macro body (b), the group is set to Y. For example:
tilib -gnFOO_:ERRORS -gbERR:ERRORS -c -Moutput_mac_file -hinput_header_file output_til_file
with this header file:
#define ERR(x) x #define FOO_OK 0 #define FOO_BAD 1 #define BAR_BAD ERR(-1)
produces this macro file:
ERRORS FOO_OK 0 FOO_BAD 1 BAR_BAD -1
Using an empty regex will prevent the group from being created (useful when you want to leave a group name available from a base til).
Adding a tilib-specific #pragma to the header files:
#pragma tilib-group ERRNO // all macros before resetting tilib-group will be added to the ERRNO group #include <errno.h> #pragma tilib-group
The third and last step is to specify the macro file as the input for TILIB:
tilib -c -minput_mac_file -hinput_header_file output_til_file
The generated til file will have all normal type definitions and all macro definitions from the .mac file.
List of supported keywords
Below is the list of supported keywords. If your header files happen to have an unsupported keyword, you take one of the following actions:
edit the input files and remove the unsupported keywords
use #define to replace or hide the unsupported keywords
use the -D command line switch for the same purpose
__cdecl do goto return protected __ptr32
__pascal if long signed __unaligned __ptr64
__stdcall _es cpp_this sizeof __userpurge __restrict
__fastcall _cs void static _BYTE __hidden
__thiscall _ss break struct _WORD __array_ptr
__usercall _ds catch switch _DWORD __struct_ptr
__export asm class default _QWORD __return_ptr
__import for const mutable _OWORD
__thread int float private _TBYTE
__declspec new short typedef _UNKNOWN
__far try throw virtual _BOOL1
__near auto union continue _BOOL2
__huge bool while register _BOOL4
__int8 case double template __spoils
__int16 char extern unsigned __attribute__
__int32 else friend volatile __pure
__int64 enum inline interrupt __noreturn
__int128 flat public namespace __cppobj
What's next?
Learn more about TILIB utility and check Igor's tip of the week about creating custom libraries.
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