CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++linuxlinkershared-libraries
user535474
user535474

Reputation: 61

Deferring linking of shared libs

If I'm using a shared library in linux, why do I need to link it with -l if the application has to find the library at runtime?

Couldn't I just pass in a dummy .so with the proper function signatures during the linking step and replace it with a real .so at runtime and still have it work properly?

Is there a way to compile an application with just a header file and have the linking take place at runtime?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 182

Answers (1)

Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams

Reputation: 798746

If I'm using a shared library in linux, why do I need to link it with -l if the application has to find the library at runtime?

So that the loader knows which libraries have to be loaded at runtime.

Couldn't I just pass in a dummy .so with the proper function signatures during the linking step and replace it with a real .so at runtime and still have it work properly?

Absolutely.

Is there a way to compile an application with just a header file and have the linking take place at runtime?

Yes, but then it's your responsibility to call dlopen(3) and dlsym(3) yourself to load the libraries and functions.

Upvotes: 2

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