Re: libc5 xlib packages

[Greg Stark <gsstark@mit.edu>]

Kurt Roeckx <Q@ping.be> writes:

> I'm a little confused about what you're asking.  We have a libc5
> package that has a /lib/libc.so.5.4.46, /lib/libc.so.5 symlink to
> it, libm.  What else do you need?
> 
> You need X libraries linked to libc5?  Why would you need
> those?  Why don't the normal x libraries work for you?

Debian has the institutional memory of an ADHD nerd. Unsurprisingly :)

All libraries used by an application must themselves be linked against the
same version of libc and the same version that the application is linked
against. 

Debian went through a great upheaval to upgrade from libc5 to libc6 because of
this. Every library had to be available in two versions for a period so that
applications could link against the appropriate one. And developers had to
take care not to accidentally link against both varieties.

So there's a special hack in ld.so to detect which version of libc you're
using and look in a separate place aside from /usr/lib /usr/X11R6/lib etc for
the libraries if you're using libc5.

-- 
greg