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Date: Fri, 4 Apr 1997 14:29:57 -0600
From: Jonathan Lemon <jlemon@americantv.com>
To: John Polstra <jdp@polstra.com>
Cc: smc@servtech.com, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject: Re: FreeBSD Elf-Kit and dynamic loading
References: <5i0j1d$jtk@news.itfs.nsk.su> <19970403191209.52889@keltia.freenix.fr> <5i2k5h$4jb@news.itfs.nsk.su> <334525B9.167EB0E7@servtech.com> <199704041835.KAA24555@austin.polstra.com>
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In-Reply-To: <199704041835.KAA24555@austin.polstra.com>; from John Polstra on Apr 04, 1997 at 10:35:07AM -0800
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On Apr 04, 1997 at 10:35:07AM -0800, John Polstra wrote:
>
> Now suppose you add a new version of the library, "libc.so.4".  You
> change the symlink "libc.so" to point to the new version.  Things
> work out the way they should.  Existing executables that were linked
> against libc.so.3 still will use that same library, because the
> versioned name is recorded in them.  When you build new programs,
> though, they'll use the newest library, because that's where the
> unversioned symlink points now.
> 
> I didn't invent it.  I just implemented it. :-)

My first reaction: 

   "Oh, yuck.  You mean I have to remember to update a symlink whenever I
    put in a new version of the shared libraries?!"

My second reaction:

   "Oh, good.  Now I have a way of dealing with certain l^Husers 
    who insist on having a libc.so.261 on some systems."

I guess there are benefits to this approach.
--
Jonathan