pert:
I'm not sure if that will be useful for reducing memory usage
Actually having the .elf file is critical to being able to analyze code and data usage.
But having the raw .elf file isn't that helpful. What you really need is a link map or a listing file, but you can easily generate those from the elf file using avr-nm and avr-objdump
Doing anything else is simply wasting lots of time as you are just firing shots in the dark.
for the listing file:
avr-objdump -S -h $elfname
for the linkmap:
avr-nm -S $elfname
I use a wrapper script around avr-objcopy to automatically create a listing file and symbol table file each time the sketch is built but it requires an operating system that has real commandline tools (not Windows).
That way I automatically get the files every time a build a sketch and if I need them I can just go down into the sketch build area and they are there.
--- bill