Need help building & integrating library into target program

[Stuart Summerville]

Hi all,

I'm trying to build a custom library that is then integrated into other target
programs. I'm having problems linking the library into the final executable.

Here's the steps I've taken:
1) Compile to object file (using -c switch on gcc) each of the source files for
the library.
2) Archive the object files together in mylib.a. This is using 'ar rv mylib.a
*.o'.
3) Compile another source file (new_app.c) ready to use the library. Same
compilation as before, to an object file.
4) Link new_app.o with mylib.a, using gcc. I've tried passing in the -static
switch also. The output is new_app, which should also contains any required
functions from mylib.

All goes well until runtime, when ld.so.1 informs me that it couldn't open
mylib.o (as opposed to mylib.a) & that new_app has been killed.

Why is this happening? Where is it getting mylib.o from?

Another makefile I have aquired, that I've based my makefile on, takes one extra
step after creating mylib.a. It runs the following:

prompt> : mylib.a

This seems to fuction properly,and does change the file, somehow. The variable
used to hold this ':' keyword is called $(RANLIB) which suggests its generating
an index into mylib.a, but I'm not sure how this mapping (of ':' to ranlib or
'ar -s') is done, unless its prodding the make program to do so, somehow.

So far as I can tell, my makefile is manipulating the library file just as the
sample one is.

If necessary, can you suggest some methods of analysing mylib.a to look for
problems?

Thanks for any help,

sTu.


________________________________________________________________________
Stuart Summerville                     NEC Australia Pty. Ltd.
ph: (+61 3) 9264-3090                  Integrated Comm Products (R&D)
fax:(+61 3) 9264-3841                  649-655 Springvale Road Mulgrave
stuarts@<nospam>icpdd.neca.nec.com.au  VIC 3170, AUSTRALIA