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Re: [Gnu-arch-users] Re: Managing changes to projects that use autoco nf
From: |
Tom Lord |
Subject: |
Re: [Gnu-arch-users] Re: Managing changes to projects that use autoco nf/automake with tla |
Date: |
Tue, 6 Apr 2004 19:27:36 -0700 (PDT) |
> From: Andrew Suffield <address@hidden>
> On Tue, Apr 06, 2004 at 09:00:27AM -0700, Tom Lord wrote:
> > On the other hand, sure, I'm willing to merge in shared library
> > support. I'm not too enthusiastic about the implementation of
> > libtool. What I'd really like to see is a project that spends a few
> > weeks and a couple of "spare evenings" volunteers to _extract_ from
> > libtool some of the platform-specific knowledge it contains. I'd
> > like to see it produce a document and database: the document
> > describing the variations on shared lib handling in the natural world
> > and commenting on what abstractions make sense over those; the
> > database capturing the platform-specific knowledge in a handy format.
> I'm afraid this is quite a tricky problem. libtool isn't a thin
> wrapper, it's a lowest-common-denominator abstraction layer; some of
> the platforms involved, notably AIX and win32, have really *strange*
> notions of what constitutes a shared library. Providing an interface
> that works reliably, usefully, and in the same manner on all platforms
> is one of those "hard problems".
> libtool could certainly use reimplementing (in something that is not
> shell), but it's no coincidence that this hasn't happened yet.
I believe you. There was an opportunity lost during libtool
development to the effect that they didn't try to _take_notes_ rather
than just record all of the accumulated knowledge as code..... but,
spilt milk and all that.
-t