Shared Lib Question (ISC)

[Pat Myrto]

I have noticed with interest the discussion going on regarding shared
libraries.  However, what is obvious is that there are several kinds
of shared libaries, all using some different scheme to operate.

Does anyone out there know how the type that is used on the ISC SysV
R3 version operate?  Does the whole image load into core and remain
there, and the programs that use the shared libary access the
functions they need?  Or does an attempt to load the library occur and
the system finds its allready loaded and shares the text, similar to
the way separate processes of the same program share text?  Once
loaded by a program using it, does it STAY in core, or do parts stay,
or if nothing is running that uses it, is the core space freed?

If the questions seem stupid, its because I have NO IDEA of how this
works - docs not being much help - so other than the obvious saving on
disk space, I am not really able to make an intelligent decision on
whether a given application would be best built with or without using
the shared library.

Thanks for any info...
-- 
pat at rwing                                       (Pat Myrto),  Seattle, WA
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