CODEWITHSUNDEEP
winapimemory-managementpagingvirtual-memory
user1232138
user1232138

Reputation: 5541

Image of a file

What does Image of a file mean when we say something like "the system allocates enough storage from the paging file to hold the file's image"?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 71

Answers (2)

mox
mox

Reputation: 6314

The image of a file is typically the content of a file that is executable. Before being able to execute an application (EXE, ...but also DLL, SYS..) the Loader copy the appropriate executable parts (which are contained in a file on a medium) to the memory (mapping). Once successfully done, the loader jump to the entry point (in memory) and runs the program.

Upvotes: 1

Eugen Rieck
Eugen Rieck

Reputation: 65284

If this is, what I think it is, you are talking about DLLs and similar beasts: Code, that is loaded into a running process.

In this case, the whole DLL is mapped into (virtual) memory and then this memeory is marked as executable. The need to do this stems from the fact, that typically code can not be run from Disk, but need to be run from Memory.

Upvotes: 0

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