Re: [Bug-GnuCOBOL] cobc: Transcend Path Environment variabl GnuCobol Version 3 Release 1 aunder MinGW

[Simon Sobisch]

Hi Bruce,

Am 03.06.2018 um 20:17 schrieb Bruce Zupek:
> It is my understanding that GNUCobol will follow entries in the Path
> environment variable to resolve an application program invoking a .DLL
> It is my observation that the Path environment variable is not being
> traversed in a GNUCobol program referencing a foreign (not germane to
> GNUCobol) .DLL.
> 
> [...]
> 
> Is my understanding correct ?

No, it isn't.

> Please advise.

My advice stands as before: see the GnuCOBOL manual (or
config/runtime.cfg if you don't want to open a PDF) about the runtime
configuration, in this case COB_LIBRARY_PATH.

In general: PATH variable in WIN32 is for both the link loader
(resolving "hard-wired" entry points from dll's) (and executable) lookup
(all other systems have separate environment variables like an
additional LD_LIBRARY_PATH).

Therefore: I you tell cobc to explicit add a link to something with
`-llibname` and libname was a shared library you need to have the
referenced DLL it in PATH (normally in LD_LIBRARY_PATH), otherwise you
have a runtime lookup where COB_LIBRARY_PATH is checked.

> Bruce Zupek