http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=52623
--- Comment #5 from David Edelsohn <dje at gcc dot gnu.org> 2012-03-22 03:00:40 UTC --- AIX fundamentally wants to handle shared objects differently than SVR4/Solaris/Linux. AIX wants to package shared objects in an archive, like normal object files. And AIX library versioning happens within an archive -- all but the newest shared object are marked LOADONLY using the AIX "strip -e" command. Similarly an archive can contain both 32 bit and 64 bit objects. That design does not match multiple shared objects in a directory and separate directories for 32 bit and 64 bit. It also leads to an algorithm design that stops at the first archive found, which conflicts with GCC trying to accommodate Linux's SVR4 design.