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BFM-decomp/tools
Drew T 3ebbec9426 fix(psyq_integrate): main was RED on every incremental relink — make the externals file monotonic
THE TRUE IDENTITY OF THE LONG-STANDING 'main link defect' (2026-08-15). The extra C
function never broke the link; the RELINK it forced did.

integrate() derives each *_externals.ld from trial_undefined() against the CURRENT
ld_path, so its answer depends on how much of the linker script has ALREADY been
rewritten. On a virgin splat .ld the apicard region is still the stub object
(defining only firstfile2), so at the libmcrd stage 'firstfile' is undefined and
gets an entry. On an already-rewritten .ld, A66.o is present and defines
'firstfile' at 0x80062248, the trial no longer reports it undefined, and the entry
'firstfile = 0x80061FA8;' is DROPPED -- after which LIBMCRD's jal binds to A66.o
and main comes out 2 of 413,696 bytes different from retail (file 0x51674,
VA 0x80060E74, retail jal 0x80061FA8 vs built jal 0x80062248).

That is why main was green ONLY on the first build after a fresh extract, and it
is why NO main draft could ever bank through an incremental gate: the baseline was
already red before any draft was spliced.

integrate()'s own comment already CLAIMED this operation was idempotent ('a re-run
on an already-rewritten .ld only redoes syms'). This makes it true: the externals
map is merged with the file's prior contents, newly-derived values winning on a
name collision, names the new derivation no longer sees kept at their previous
address. The file becomes a function of the tree, not of how many times this ran.
It reports what it kept rather than doing it silently.

VERIFIED, three builds:
  fresh extract + build ...... GREEN (unchanged)
  INCREMENTAL relink ......... GREEN (was RED -- the failing case)
  third relink ............... GREEN (monotonic across repeats)
and the merge is observed firing: 'kept 6/15/2 extern(s) this re-run no longer saw
as undefined' across the integrate stages.

Root-caused by a Fable agent, verified here against the bytes.
2026-08-31 17:03:50 -06:00
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