Dynamic Loading of Class Implementation at Runtime.

[Benjamin Scherrey <scherrey at gte dot net>]

    I've seen messages in the past that allude to this subject and I've
searched long and hard for a (somewhat) platform independent mechanism
to implement this feature but with no success. So... I'm in need of
information on how to load, at runtime, from a shared library, the
implementation of a class (or its subclass) and then be able to unload
it and load a new implementation.

    This requires the ability to resolve virtual and non-virtual member
functions and not just C-type functions which is what has been the big
problem. My platforms of interest are x86/Linux, SPARC/Solaris 2.6, and
HP9000/HP/Ux. This is using egcs1.1.1 G++ and later as they come
available. I understand that different OS's will likely have different
calls to get at the shared libraries but my main point of interest is
the resolution of these mangled symbols at runtime.

    Appreciate all pointers and information,

        Ben Scherrey