can't compute value of an expression involving an external symbol

[Kip Macy]

When compiling the Objectspace Toolkit on Solaris Sparc 2.5 I get the
following error with one file:
/usr/local/bin/g++ -I/opt/lyris/systems  -Wno-non-template-friend
-DOS_SOLARIS_2_5 -DOS_NEW_CHECK -DOS_STL_ASSERT -DOS_NO_WSTRING
-DOS_NO_ALLOCATORS -DOS_ALTERNATIVE_NAMES -DOS_NO_AUTO_INSTANTIATE
-DOS_MULTI_THREADED -DOS_SOLARIS_NATIVE -DOS_REALTIME -D_REENTRANT -c
thisproc.cpp -o  thisproc.o
/usr/ccs/bin/as: "/var/tmp/cc1WZZCm.s", line 21831: error: can't compute
value of an expression involving an external symbol
 
I do not get this error on solaris x86 2.5. What exactly does the error
mean, and is it an assembler bug or a gcc bug? If it is an assembler bug
how do I build gcc to use gas on solaris and not solaris' native
assembler? Thanks for any help.

					-Kip