Can I stop linking the same library twice?

[Dr. David Kirkby]

Philipp Thomas wrote:
> On Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:08:11 +0000, you wrote:
> 
>> where problems arise if a library included in Sage is installed on the system 
>> too. 
> 
> Of cause they do! It's simply wrong to use and install libraries that
> the system already supplies. A sane software package detects the
> libraries installed in the system and only compiles/installs those
> that are missing. If distributed in compiled form, the only sane way
> is to statically link in the libraries to avoid clashes with system
> supplied ones.


What could you do if the system supplies a library, but it's not the latest 
release, and you need the latest?

>> Is there a way to specify that only the first copy of the library is linked, and 
>> not any other copies gcc might find? Readline is not the only library where 
>> issues have arisen (OpenSSL libraries on OpenSolaris is another example).
> 
> AFAIK there is no way.
> 
> Philipp
>