Looking for additional insight into Keil C[X]51 toolchain object and library file formats

[gtackett]

ARM Keil's toolchain for devices in the Intel 8051 family lineage is essentially Intel's OMF51 format with Keil's own extensions. For these extensions, Keil only offers documentation to developers for the processor family on a case by case basis. At least Intel has made its own basic OMF51 documentation available to the public at no cost.

My employer's client is not developing for that device, so it's very hard to predict how Keil might respond to a request for this documentation. I lack any official capacity or authority to approach them or anyone specific about getting this documentation. Yet it would be very helpful to have for some of the reverse engineering we are doing.

Our client, my own employer, and I personally, are all honor bound not to violate any protections of IP or other information that Keil and its country of incorporation chooses to impose. I haven't yet asked Keil what those may be, but I will probably pose to them soon the hypothetical (that is, completely unofficial) situation to see if they'll spell out their policy re. protection of this documentation.

I also wish to be clear that I want anyone I communicate with to honor both Keil's restrictions (if they are known to them) and their own employer's (if applicable) code of ethics and any governing legal code where they reside.

With that disclaimer understood:

What I need is an analyzer for Keil's object and library files, including their extensions to the Intel original format, that will be useful in reverse engineering binaries for that platform.

I've already written a 010 Editor template that implements the bare bones of OMF51 file format.
If someone who's following Ghidra has the OMF51 extensions information already available and is not legally or ethically bound to protect it, they might save us considerable time and expense by making it available to the interested public.

Such knowledge would also enable the development of Ghidra binary loaders, user scripts, etc., that might be of benefit to others interested in this device family.

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These comments are my own entirely, and not necessarily those of my employer or our client.