*-Operator in gas

can anyone explain what the * in the gnu 开发者_开发技巧assembler does? Example:

jmp *0x804a004

This is an entry in a procedure linkage table (plt), maybe someone can clarify what this instruction does and what the * stands for.

I think the "*" means that the address to call or jmp is absolute. If you don't specify it, "as" will assume that the operand is relative to the program counter (PC relative addressing).