Re: libstdc++-libc6 question

["Martin v. Loewis" <martin at mira dot isdn dot cs dot tu-berlin dot de>]

> Netscape was happy.  The question is: why can't gcc generate/install a
> generic libstdc++-libc6 that programs link against and that generic
> libstdc++-libc6 could actually be a link to the latest libstdc++ libraries
> regardless of the version (with the backward compatibility being
> maintained).  This way, Netscape would look for libstdc++-libc6 and not a
> specific version.

The different library versions are binary-incompatible (both backwards
and forwards). Applications linked with one of them may not work with
the other. Therefore, cross-linking them does not, in general, work
correctly.

In some cases, you may be able to use a newer library with older
applications, or vice versa. It is sometimes difficult to guess in
advance whether a particular program would work with a particular
library version.

Therefore, gcc keeps them all separate. This may result in higher
administrative burden (obtaining all these libraries), but simplifies
the life of the end-users (less unexpected crashes).

Hope this clarifies it,
Martin