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From: mike@BRL.ARPA.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re:  Programming question
Message-ID: <8711210340.aa03573@SEM.BRL.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 21-Nov-87 03:40:14 EST
Article-I.D.: SEM.8711210340.aa03573
Posted: Sat Nov 21 03:40:14 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 23-Nov-87 00:13:21 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 58

In the case of the BRL CAD Package, we make a privage copy of
/usr/lib/libdbm.a and /usr/lib/libgl2.a, delete select.o,
then add libbsd.a.  This, and other vendor-specific brain-damage,
means that the MAKE rule for libfb.a (our device-independent
framebuffer library) look like this:


# On the Silicon Graphics (and in the future perhaps others),
# include the vendor's library within our own, so that linking
# with libfb.a is sufficient to make pictures.
#
${PRODUCTS}:	$(OBJS)
	-if test x${SYSVERS} = xSGI34 ; then \
		rm -fr tmp;  mkdir tmp; rm -f ${PRODUCTS}; cd tmp; \
		${AR} x /usr/lib/libsocket.a; \
		${AR} uv ../${PRODUCTS} *; \
		rm -f *; \
		${AR} x /usr/lib/libgl2.a; \
		${AR} uv ../${PRODUCTS} *; \
		cd ..; rm -fr tmp; \
	fi
	-if test x${SYSVERS} = xSGI35 ; then \
		rm -fr tmp;  mkdir tmp; rm -f ${PRODUCTS}; cd tmp; \
		${AR} x /usr/lib/libdbm.a; \
		${AR} x /usr/lib/libgl2.a; \
		rm -f select.o; \
		${AR} x /usr/lib/libbsd.a; \
		${AR} uv ../${PRODUCTS} *; \
		cd ..; rm -fr tmp ; \
	fi
	-if test x${SYSVERS} = xUNICOS20 ; then \
		cp /usr/lib/libnet.${ARCH_SUF} ${PRODUCTS}; \
	fi
	-if test x${SYSVERS} = xSUN3 ; then \
		rm -fr tmp;  mkdir tmp; rm -f ${PRODUCTS}; cd tmp; \
		${AR} x /usr/lib/libsuntool.a; \
		${AR} x /usr/lib/libsunwindow.a; \
		${AR} x /usr/lib/libpixrect.a; \
		${AR} uv ../${PRODUCTS} *; \
		cd ..; rm -fr tmp; \
	fi
	${AR} uv ${PRODUCTS} ${OBJS}
	${RANLIB} ${PRODUCTS}

Also, note that I consider a vendor providing a library with
"unqualified" named as hopelessly naive.  What body of user software for
doing graphics does not already have subroutines called "move", "draw",
etc?  I had to modify hundreds of lines of code in our CAD Package to
permit linking with GL2 at all.  Things should have been called
gl2_select(), as a minimum.  I understand that in the dim dark days of
older versions of the eternally wonderful and unchanging SystemV
standard, CC was unable to handle symbols that were the same in the
first 8 characters.  Sun scores better in this regard, typically with
4-letter prefixes, and wonderfully long and obtuse function names.

Of course, ADA (boo) and C++ handle this problem in a more powerful way.
	Best,
	 -Mike