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Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 14:10:11 -0400
To: "John S. Dyson" <toor@dyson.iquest.net>
From: "Kevin P. Neal" <kpneal@pobox.com>
Subject: Re: shared libraries?
Cc: hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
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At 12:07 AM 8/28/97 -0500, John S. Dyson wrote:
>> If most of the libraries were converted to a shared lib format wouldn't
>> that reduce memory and disk space requirements tremendously?
>> not only that, but complile times and exec times would soar, woudn't they?
>>
>Believe it or not, shared libs often hurt more than help.  Even with an
>ideal scheme that is prelinked, a program can take MORE memory, not less.
>We share the .text of programs even without using shared libs.  In the
>case of shells, shared libs are usually a loose.  A rule of thumb that I use

1) Why would a program with shared libs using your "ideal scheme" use more
memory?

2) Why are shared libs a lose in the case of shells?

Are you just referring to the start up time required to get the libraries
linked into the running executable?
--
XCOMM Kevin P. Neal, Junior, Comp. Sci.     -   House of Retrocomputing
XCOMM  mailto:kpneal@pobox.com              -   http://www.pobox.com/~kpn/
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XCOMM "Good grief, I've just noticed I've typed in a rant. Sorry chaps!"