as(1) on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs
On Solnix, as is the GNU assembler from pkgs.solnix.binutils, and it is not in the base system. The Solnix and Linux pages have the same SYNOPSIS and the same described behaviour. Only a few configure-dependent options differ.
The manual pages
What Solnix runs
Not installed by default: add pkgs.solnix.binutils. The bundle lists no other illumos variants and includes no illumos as text, so it does not say what, if anything, is at /usr/bin/as on a default system.
Differences
| Compared with | Topic | What differs |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | same program | Solnix as is the GNU assembler, the same program family as the Linux binutils as. The SYNOPSIS, the DESCRIPTION and the listing options (-a[cdghilmns][=file]) are identical in the two pages.Source: Solnix as(1) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION; Linux as(1) SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION |
| Linux | not in the base system | On Linux the page documents the installed binutils as. On Solnix the command is absent until you install pkgs.solnix.binutils, so a build script that calls as fails with command-not-found on a fresh system. Source: Solnix bundle header (on PATH: none: install pkgs.solnix.binutils) |
| Linux | x86 TLS check option | The extracted flags show --enable-x86-tls-check only on the Linux page. The Solnix page's extracted flags do not list it.Source: Linux as(1) option flags (--enable-x86-tls-check); Solnix as(1) option flags |
| Linux | RISC-V privileged spec option | The extracted flags show --with-priv-spec only on the Linux page. The Solnix page lists --with-isa-spec and --with-arch instead. The text of these entries is trimmed, so the bundle does not show what they do.Source: Linux as(1) option flags (--with-priv-spec); Solnix as(1) option flags (--with-arch, --with-isa-spec) |
| Linux | configure-time options | The Solnix flag list includes --enable-64-bit-bfd, --enable-elf-stt-common and --enable-generate-build-notes, which are configure options. The Linux flag list has only --enable-x86-tls-check as a configure option. The text is trimmed, so the bundle does not show how they differ.Source: Solnix as(1) option flags; Linux as(1) option flags |
| Linux | debug section compression default | Both pages say --nocompress-debug-sections is usually the default except on x86/x86_64, and that a configure-time option can override this. The default therefore depends on how each binutils build was configured, and the Solnix page does not say how its build was configured.Source: Solnix as(1) --nocompress-debug-sections; Linux as(1) --nocompress-debug-sections |
| FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD | no BSD counterpart in the bundle | The bundle has no as(1) page for FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD. The manual cannot support any claim about how their assemblers differ from the Solnix GNU as. Source: Bundle header (only a linux counterpart listed) |
Standards
- POSIX: as is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.
Writing portable scripts
- Do not assume as is present on a fresh Solnix system. Install pkgs.solnix.binutils, or check for it before using it in a build script.
- Use only the options common to the pages, such as
-o,--defsym,-Iand-alistings. Check the--versionoutput of the as in use before relying on configure-dependent options.
Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.