Re: GCC 3.0 Release Criteria

[Chip Salzenberg <chip at valinux dot com>]

According to Joerg Faschingbauer:
> >>>>> "Chip" == Chip Salzenberg <chip@valinux.com> writes:
> Chip> If by "serious" you mean "targeting unknown systems",
> Chip> then you probably want to link with static libc also, yes?
> 
> - First, usually every system - even unknown - has a libc installed
>   somewhere around (which tries to be bincompatible as far as possible
>   - but read on). This is not generally the case with libstdc++ [...]

Not at present.  But if you read the critera for gcc 3.0, especially
the work that's been done on the "new ABI" for C++, I suspect you'll
find that the groundwork is being laid for a libstdc++ that is just as
universal as libc6.

> - Second, from what I heard - correct me if I'm wrong - you must build
>   libstdc++ with the same compiler you use to build your program with.

I'd say that's a good rule of thumb today.  But, again, the "new ABI"
work seems likely to make compiler independence achievable.

> - Third (no joke), because of an incompatibility (I assume in libio)
>   introduced somewhere between glibc 2.0.6 and 2.1.<dunno>, the
>   programs linked statically against the libstdc++.a (which was built
>   against glibc 2.0.6) failed running on a 2.1.<dunno> system. Of
>   course, employing libstdc++.so would have solved this, but
>   unfortunately there's the second point above. Solution: link libc
>   static. (Mad laughter here!)

If I were in your shoes, I'd include an appropriate libstdc++.so in an
application-specific library directory.  That would solve two problems
at once.

> Understand my point?  And why I complain when I hear about libgcc
> becoming shared?  (Don't say you don't please!)

Again, if library versioning is a problem ... and I'm not saying that
it would or wouldn't be for libgcc ... then you can include a library
with your application.  Right?
-- 
Chip Salzenberg              - a.k.a. -              <chip@valinux.com>
"I wanted to play hopscotch with the impenetrable mystery of existence,
    but he stepped in a wormhole and had to go in early."  // MST3K