The order of the object modules supplied to the linker does not usually matter although some systems require the main program to be specified first. The order in which the library files are searched may be important, however, so that some care has to be exercised when several different libraries are in use at the same time.
The principal output of the linker is a single file usually called the executable image. Most linkers can also produce a storage map showing the location of the various modules in memory. Sometimes other information is provided such as symbol tables which may be useful in debugging the program.