LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Objective 4: Manage Shared Libraries

When a program is compiled under Linux, many of the functions required by the program are linked from system libraries that handle disks, memory, and other functions. For example, when printf( ) is used in a program, the programmer doesn't provide the printf( ) source code, but instead expects that the system already has a library containing such functions. When the compiler needs to link the code for printf( ), it can be found in a system library and copied into the executable. A program that contains executable code from these libraries is said to be statically linked because it stands alone, requiring no additional code at runtime.

Statically linked programs can have a few liabilities. First, they tend to get large because they include executables for all of the library functions linked into them. Also, memory is wasted when many different programs running concurrently contain the same library functions. To avoid these problems, many programs are dynamically linked. Such programs utilize the same routines but don't contain the library code. Instead, they are linked into the executable at runtime. This dynamic linking process allows multiple programs to use the same library code in memory and makes executable files smaller. Dynamically linked libraries are shared among many applications and are thus called shared libraries . A full discussion of libraries is beyond the scope of the LPIC Level 1 exams. However, a general understanding ...