Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!wuarchive!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.programmer
Subject: Re: shared libraries, when to use them
Keywords: shared libraries .so
Message-ID: <8447@auspex.auspex.com>
Date: 20 Jun 91 23:58:32 GMT
References: <1991Jun11.163544.20234@aio.jsc.nasa.gov> <17106@darkstar.ucsc.edu> <1991Jun18.051455.17686@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu>
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 22

>> (1) The application is going to be installed on the workstation root,
>> and will need to be able to run even when the filesystems with the
>> shared libraries in them are not mounted, or are inaccessible (e.g.
>> you're using a diskless workstation and the network suddenly goes
>> down);
>
>Uh, if the network goes down on a diskless you generally can't even get
>your executable off disk to run it at all.

Bad example, but there *are* good examples:

	auspex% file /sbin/*
	/sbin/config:   sparc demand paged dynamically linked executable
	/sbin/hostname: sparc demand paged executable
	/sbin/ifconfig: sparc demand paged executable
	/sbin/init:     sparc demand paged executable
	/sbin/mount:    sparc demand paged executable
	/sbin/sh:       sparc demand paged executable

All but "config" (no, I don't know why "config" is there; yes, it's just
"/usr/etc/config", and no, it's not a symlink) have to be able to run
when the filesystems with shared libraries in them aren't mounted.