Re: Stop shipping static libraries for NetBSD

["Aaron J. Grier" <agrier%poofygoof.com@localhost>]

On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 11:56:42PM -0400, Greg A. Woods; Planix, Inc. wrote:
> On 18-Aug-08, at 6:11 PM, Matt Thomas wrote:
> >The proposal is stop shipping; not stop using.  Anything in the build
> >can continue to use them, as can anyone doing their own builds.  The
> >proposal is to not ship them so the average user won't be able to
> >link static  programs.
> 
> To me it is just as sad that NetBSD, in its role as as a binary-only
> vendor, would like to take the same attitude that Sun and Apple and
> Microsoft have done and also force everyone providing source-based
> software to those using those binary-only distributions to be totally
> locked into the "everything must be dynamic all the time" mindset.

NetBSD isn't a binary only vendor.  claiming so is a straw-man argument.

you appear to be making the assumption that static linking by end-users
is a common case.  I don't believe it is.  a 'ls -ltu /usr/lib/*.a' on
my development machine at work shows atimes corresponding to system
updates in 2006 and 2007, with the exception of libgcc and friends.

> In any case one can choose to lock one's self into requiring dynamic
> runtime linking all the time even when sane alternatives exist and
> regardless of whether one has source or not, but I think doing so is
> rather short-sighted and wasteful in the worst of ways.

the proposal is to stop shipping .a libraries by default.  that doesn't
lock anybody into requiring a dynamic runtime.

-- 
  Aaron J. Grier | "Not your ordinary poofy goof." | 
agrier%poofygoof.com@localhost