Re: Binutils linker bug?

[Ian Lance Taylor <ian at zembu dot com>]

   Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 14:46:57 +1100
   From: Geoff Keating <geoffk@ozemail.com.au>

   > Are you suggesting that the program linker should reject an attempt to
   > use a symbol from a shared library which is only included indirectly?
   > That would break existing systems.  For example, on Solaris, the
   > shared X library includes other libraries.  If we rejected references
   > to shared libraries included indirectly, people would no longer be
   > able to simply link against -lX11.  This would also be incompatible
   > with the Solaris linker.

   I am suggesting exactly this.  I just checked, and the solaris 2.5.1
   linker does what I am suggesting:

Hmmm, I guess I misremembered about the Solaris linker.

As I recall, I put in the indirect referencing stuff at the request of
Roland McGrath for glibc.  It's been in there since 1995, and I'm a
bit reluctant to take it out now.

Let's go back to why it's a bad idea.  You're right that it can permit
a link to succeed which can then break if a shared library is changed.
But, after all, that is always true: any link can break if a shared
library is changed.  Why is this different?

Ian