Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mit-eddie.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!eagle!mit-vax!mit-eddie!barmar From: barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: Shared system routines Message-ID: <505@mit-eddie.UUCP> Date: Wed, 27-Jul-83 02:39:44 EDT Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.505 Posted: Wed Jul 27 02:39:44 1983 Date-Received: Wed, 27-Jul-83 13:07:43 EDT References: <392@alberta.UUCP> <886@rlgvax.UUCP> Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA Lines: 16 The discussion of shared libraries that occurred a while ago was mostly about whether library routines that just about everyone uses should be moved into the kernal, since people didn't want to have to deal with these issues. It died, luckily. BTW, shared libraries were implemented in Multics (a "pre-clone" of Unix :-)) from day 1 (nearly twenty years ago). We call it dynamic linking, and I wouldn't want to live without it. All it takes is a bit in indirect pointers which causes a reference to fault; the OS traps the linkage fault, unfaults the pointer to find the symbolic name of the reference, finds the library routine, patches the indirect pointer to reference it, and restart the instruction. -- Barry Margolin ARPA: barmar@MIT-Multics UUCP: ..!genrad!mit-eddie!barmar