Re: .la file status and hint to clear the dependency_libs field
On Mon, 30 May 2011 at 12:23:35 +0200, Vincent Lefevre wrote:
> They are at least read by libtool. For instance, when building MPFR
> (as a normal user):
[...]
> Either the information provided by /usr/lib/libgmp.la is important
> and this file should be kept, or libtool should not attempt to read
> the file... unless this doesn't matter for the specific case of
> /usr/lib under Debian.
It doesn't matter for the specific case of /usr/lib under Debian. Debian's
libtool has appropriate behaviour (read .la files if found, but fall back
to just using the real library if not).
libtool .la files are useful if:
* you're linking against a library installed in a directory that isn't
searched by the dynamic linker by default (e.g. installing a local
library in --prefix=$HOME, and a program that links that library -
but this isn't relevant for packaged libraries in /lib or /usr/lib,
which are searched by default anyway)
* your build-time dynamic linker doesn't write direct dependencies into
shared libraries, or your runtime dynamic linker doesn't respect them
(but our linkers work correctly, so this doesn't apply)
* you link statically against a library whose upstream doesn't provide a
pkg-config .pc file (but if this is the case, please ask them to - it's
useful functionality)
* you use libltdl to load plugins (this is one legitimate reason for a Debian
package to have a .la file accompanying a plugin - but it isn't a reason
to have a .la file accompanying a public library)
None of these apply to an "ordinary" public shared library in Debian.
S
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