[Caml-list] OpenBSD and dynamic loading

[Caml-list] OpenBSD and dynamic loading

[Berke Durak]

Will dynamic library loading be supported under OpenBSD ? It remotely
seems to me that it's just a matter of giving the proper options
to the linker and of defining the (unused) RTLD_ flags to dlopen().
--
Berke


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Re: [Caml-list] OpenBSD and dynamic loading

[Xavier Leroy]

> Will dynamic library loading be supported under OpenBSD ? It remotely
> seems to me that it's just a matter of giving the proper options
> to the linker and of defining the (unused) RTLD_ flags to dlopen().

In general, dynamic loading support is activated only after thorough
testing on the OS in question.  That's because there is considerable
variability between Unix systems on
1- the compilation flags for building shared objects;
2- the flags supported by dlopen();
3- whether some features of dynamic loading (e.g. automatic loading of
   dependent libraries) are properly implemented.

Jacques Garrigue and I found the hard way that several reputable Unixes
have well-hidden problems with dynamic loading, especially points 2 and 3
above.  It is better for the final users to leave dynamic loading
turned off in case of doubt rather than turn it on and run into
obscure problems later.

Concerning OpenBSD in particular, we have no OpenBSD machine to do the
testing, so don't expect DLL support there soon.

- Xavier Leroy
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