[gentoo-dev] Re: gentoo: static/dynamic linking libraries

[Duncan <1i5t5.duncan@cox.net>]

Roman Zimmermann <mereandor@gmail.com> posted
200704300928.20427.mereandor@gmail.com, excerpted below, on  Mon, 30 Apr
2007 09:28:16 +0200:

> Am Montag 30 April 2007 05:35 schrieb Marius Mauch:
>> [snip]
>> builds being irrelevant in many cases is wrong, just that the claim of
>> "only 2 packages needing it" is bogus.
> 
> Surely this was meant in the context of the previous thread: 2 out of
> 845 packages on my system would be right. That's about 0,237%. Either
> way this is a small percentage to argue that 100% should be built with
> static libs. (And there is still the question whether those two would
> really _need_ those static libs or it's just due to the deficiency of
> the EXTRA_ECONF-method.)
> 
> When I have time I will take a look on how some other distributions
> handle this.

What <most> other distributions (which are binary) do doesn't apply, 
because they aren't designed for the end-user to be constantly compiling 
stuff as is assumed on Gentoo.  Most other distributions can (and 
probably do) split most libraries into main-package and -dev package, the 
-dev version containing headers and likely static versions of the 
libraries, while the dynamically linked binaries, config, etc, is in the 
main package.

That makes no sense for an end-user compiled distribution, where if a 
library is installed, it's assumed it will be used, and to use it headers 
and the like must be installed as well.  Statically linked library 
binaries won't always be needed, true, but IMO the same idea should apply 
-- they should be installed by default as it'll be impossible to link 
something statically against them if they aren't, and where end-user 
compiling must be assumed, it's entirely reasonable to assume those same 
end-users may wish some of those compilations to be statically built.

Sure, if it's not too much of a hassle, give those users a USE flag 
(since we're talking per-package enabling), that can of course be set 
globally in make.conf if desired, and that defaults to installing static 
as well as dynamic for most profiles.  Embedded may wish to disable it by 
default, and users may do so if desired, but in the general case, the 
static libs should be there by default just in case.  However, if it's 
too much hassle, having both installed is the sane default, and there's 
certainly INSTALL_MASK for those such as embedded that might be tight-up 
on space or the required additional compiling resources.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman

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