a.out is an object file format used in older versions of Unix and unix-like operating systems. a.out stands for assembleroutput. In computer science, object file or object code is an intermediate representation of code generated by a compiler after it processes a source code file. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Guide to UNIX Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. ... A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. ... In computing, an operating system (OS) is the system software responsible for the direct control and management of hardware and basic system operations. ... An assembler is a computer program for translating assembly language — essentially, a mnemonic representation of machine language — into object code. ...
Under Unix, a.out was superseded by the COFF format when System V Release 3 was released. (Which was in turn superceded by ELF).
Under Linux, a.out was superseded by ELF when Linux 2.0 kernel was released.
The Common Object File Format (COFF) is an object file format that was introduced in Unix System V Release 3, and was later adopted by Microsoft for Windows NT. It was superseded by the more powerful ELF in System V Release 4, but as of 2005 COFF is still used... The many divergents of System V System V, previously known as AT&T System V, was one of the versions of the Unix computer operating system. ... A small forest elf (älva) rescuing an egg, from Solägget (1932), by Elsa Beskow An elf is a mythical creature of Germanic mythology which survived in northern European folklore. ... In computing, the Executable and Linkable Format (ELF) is a common standard for executables and object code. ... Tux, a cartoon penguin frequently featured sitting, is the official Linux mascot. ...
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