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From:	Mark Valentine <mark AT linus DOT demon DOT co DOT uk>
Newsgroups:	comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject:	dynamic linking?
Date:	Sun, 6 Aug 1995 18:53:24 GMT
Lines:	22
To:	djgpp AT sun DOT soe DOT clarkson DOT edu
Dj-Gateway:	from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

Has the possibility of dynamic linking been considered for gcc under
MS-DOS?  How hard would it be to do (very tricky, or just a matter of
finding someone with the time and inclination to do it)?

Two applications for this that come to mind are:

  (1)  the ability to extend things like perl and tcl without the
       need for an installed development system (the Windows port of
       tcl I saw had this capability using an .ini file and .dll's).

  (2)  Quake (Id Software's upcoming game) - Id currently plan to
       ship DJGPP so that the user (via the setup program) can link
       in extensions.  (Would they be interested enough in dynamic
       linking to fund development?)

There are several existing implementations of dynamic libraries and
dlopen() for gcc to crib from...

		Mark.

P.S.  Sorry, I'm not desperate enough to implement this myself!

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