Why GPC? (was: GPC linker errors - help needed)

[Morton, John]

Quite reasonable questions.  And No, you didn't miss anything. 

Yes, we need to use static libraries/objects that we can place under
configuration control.  And static linking is mandatory for us.  That's
why I have used "rpm2cpio" to extract the 3 objects from "glibc-devel"
that are used by gpc.  

Now I just have to figure out how to get gpc to use these 3 files and
how to split gpc into separate compile and link phases and also get gpc
to place the object files into their own permanent folder.  Once that is
done I should be able to rebuild our application on RHEL 5.4.  

Any hints here would be greatly appreciated.

I agree with your point about commercial software but the choice of O/S,
compiler, etc. was determined by the FAA, not us.  
They also provide us with a special purpose library that we must use
(link to) when interfacing to their systems.  That library pretty much
forces us to use gpc and/or other gnu-based tools/compilers (gcc, gnat,
etc).  Gpc is being used for compatability to the library and because
that is what was used to port our Pascal interface code (originally
developed for HPUX in the mid 90s) to 32-bit RHEL.

The reason behind behind what we are doing is that the FAA is moving a
system we use to 64-bit RHEL5.4.  The nature and importance of this
system means we must move in lockstep with them.  
Part of our effort requires porting (for the second time) the existing
code and development tools.  While the current 32-bit executable should
run without problems on RHEL5.4 we will have to maintain and upgrade
this software for many years. 

BTW, I hope everyone understands that I have to play Devil's Advocate
and think of the worst possible outcome that would occur if all the
holes in the "Swiss Cheese" model line up.  I only handle one of many
slices; if any other slice blocks the hole in my layer then there is no
safety issue.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Hiltibidal, Rob [mailto:Rob.Hiltibidal at argushealth.com] 
Sent: September 1, 2010 05:10 PM
To: Morton, John
Subject: RE: GPC linker errors - help needed

I think I missed something here...

Why not use static libraries at this point?

In all honesty if its safety/life-critical systems why not use
commercial software that is supportable?