title: In GNU Assembler, what does a dot signify at the beginning of a name?
body: <p>The following is a line from a microprocessor startup file, intended for input into the GNU assembler <em>as</em>:</p>
  
  <pre><code>.section  .isr_vector,"a",%progbits
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Does the dot at the beginning of the name <code>.isr_vector</code> mean anything special?  PS: This name is referenced by the GNU linker <em>ld</em>.</p>
  
  <p>EDIT: </p>
  
  <p>This name also shows up in readelf output as a <em>Section Header</em>:</p>
  
  <pre><code>Section Headers:
    [Nr] Name              Type            Addr     Off    Size   ES Flg Lk Inf Al
    ...
    [ 1] .isr_vector       PROGBITS        08000000 008000 0001ac 00   A  0   0  1
  </code></pre>