: this is great for backwards binary compatability, something Linux : has excelled at.
With all due respect, Linux has been worse about this than many other platforms, especially where C++ programs are concerned. FreeBSD, for example, has been more stable over the past couple of years. SunOS and Solaris ditto (but the new C++ compiler does mangle names differently, so that can be a big problem for library vendors). When I released the OI/OB product for Linux, it wouldn't work within less than six months without patches. Not a very good record :-(. And I keep reading about the Motif you have to relink/rebuild problems as well, which sound a lot like the same sorts of problems I had with OI. Linux has done a good job, but I wouldn't say excelled, unless you caveat it with "for most binaries" or something like that. Warner
