Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site cbosgd.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!tektronix!ucbcad!ucbvax!cbosgd!db From: db@cbosgd.UUCP Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: shared libraries Message-ID: <172@cbosgd.UUCP> Date: Wed, 3-Aug-83 18:08:29 EDT Article-I.D.: cbosgd.172 Posted: Wed Aug 3 18:08:29 1983 Date-Received: Fri, 5-Aug-83 11:39:36 EDT Organization: Bell Labs, Columbus Lines: 19 A reason for shared libraries that doesn't seem to have gotten much discussion is: being able to update common application libraries without having to recompile & load the entire system. For example, our product uses a database library that is referenced by the majority of the application code. If we need to modify this library, we rebuild the entire system to make sure that everything is properly loaded. This takes *eight hours* (or more) on a PDP-11/70 (NOT including the time to load the resultant tapes and restart the system). Most of our application programs can be updated in the field by putting the revised version on the customer's machine and compiling and installing it there, but this cannot be easily done with the library code. So, some kind of shared-library mechanism that would allow new versions of common code to be installed (as long as the function calls remain the same) sure would be handy. -Dave Bursik/BTL Columbus/..cbosg!db, ..cbosgd!db