Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!pa.dec.com!decuac!hussar.dco.dec.com!mjr
From: mjr@hussar.dco.dec.com (Marcus J. Ranum)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.internals
Subject: Re: Shared libraries
Message-ID: <1991Apr29.031351.3912@decuac.dec.com>
Date: 29 Apr 91 03:13:51 GMT
References: <1991Apr24.231048.2987@Think.COM> <148@titccy.cc.titech.ac.jp> <19239@rpp386.cactus.org>
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp., Washington Ultrix Resource Center
Lines: 22

John F Haugh II writes about UNIX:

>The intention was to be simple and elegant, not spartan.

	I couldn't pass this up. The Spartans, in fact, were successful
because they did live a simple, elegant, ummm, spartan existence. It was
their success, and the ensuing "fat dumb & happy" way of life that resulted
from their success that did 'em in. There's an obvious witty remark about
"those that do not study history..." I suppose I could make here.

> The solution
>to the shared library dilema is to find a simple and elegant implementation
>of shared libraries.

	I somewhat disagree. The trick is to take a step back - forget
the bloody shared libraries and develop a system with a decent virtual
memory system that allows nice shared memory, memory mapping, and copy
on write type semantics for those pesky data areas, and shared libraries
are less of a problem. If you look at your watermelon/kernel and ask
"how can I add shared libraries" you'll wind up with a kludge.

mjr.