Re: Shared without libtool

[Harlan Stenn]

> Does automake support building shared libraries without using libtool?

It's possible.

The reason folks use libtool is that libtool knows about how to make
shared libraries on *many* different systems, and it addresses the
shared library version issues.

For people who want to write code and let somebody else (libtool) deal
with the shared library issues, it is usually much easier to let libtool
deal with it.

If you already have (and expect to be keeping) a group of folks who are
ready to fight the "shared library battles" it may be worth letting them
keep doing it, even under automake.

There is suckage either way.

Speaking as somebody who dislikes messing with the details of shared
libraries on a bunch of platforms, and also as somebody who (from a
place of ignorance) wonders why it takes so long to get new releases of
libtool out, I would be Thrilled if the folks you know who want to do
their own shared-library stuff under automake would instead work on
making libtool even better so the rest of us can benefit from that
effort as well.

H