Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!ucla-cs!zen!ucbvax!VENUS.YCC.YALE.EDU!leichter From: leichter@VENUS.YCC.YALE.EDU ("Jerry Leichter") Newsgroups: comp.os.vms Subject: RE: Shareable image library / C bug Message-ID: <8709050052.AA17653@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Date: Fri, 4-Sep-87 12:19:00 EDT Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8709050052.AA17653 Posted: Fri Sep 4 12:19:00 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 5-Sep-87 22:26:44 EDT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Reply-To: "Jerry Leichter" Organization: The ARPA Internet Lines: 23 [The author tried to place VAXCRTL.EXE in a shareable image library and link against the library. His program failed in strange ways.] This is, indeed, a Linker bug - and old and hoary one. I've seen the details explained, before but I really don't remember them. They go something like this: In certain situations with shareable image libraries, the Linker doesn't match PSECT's up correctly. The result is multiple copies of some of the static data the program uses, with different pieces of code being linked against different copies. The result will be a rather confused program. Unfortunately, the VAX C shareable runtime library runs smack into this bug. I gather it does so in ways that would require a lot of work on the VAX C on the part of the VAX C developers to fix, and they don't consider the effort justifiable. Meanwhile, the Linker, one of the more arcane pieces of VMS, has scared of most of the people who've looked at it. Fixing this particular bug is apparently not easy.... Priorities for different bug fixes are influenced by the perceived problems the bugs are causing. If you feel strongly about this bug, submit an SPR. -- Jerry ------