Re: Dumb linker/loader question

["Simon 'corecode' Schubert" <corecode@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 15.01.2005, at 20:52, Chris Pressey wrote:
> > I'm clearly lacking some basic understanding of how this whole
> > thing works.  How can code that uses the header files from a
> > library compile *and* link successfully without that library?
> In brief: because linking to shared objects (.so's) happens only when
> the program is loaded, i.e. at runtime.  It doesn't even try to link in
> .so's at compile-time - it just takes it on faith that the functions
> that you've said will be there (by including a header file) will in 
> fact
> be there - so it doesn't know there are unresolved symbols (missing
> dependencies) until later, so everything builds without a hitch.

I think that's not 100% true. It won't work with executables because 
the linker indeed looks for the functions, if they exist in the shared 
object you're linking to. But it can't do so if you build a shared 
objects yourself. Then it just takes it for granted that the functions 
you are referring to will be present at load time.

cheers
  simon

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