3b2b3556c1
* doc/xml/faq.xml: Update outdated allocator documentation. * doc/xml/manual/allocator.xml: Likewise. * doc/xml/manual/debug.xml: Likewise. * doc/xml/manual/evolution.xml: Likewise. * doc/xml/manual/using.xml: Likewise. From-SVN: r187068
1247 lines
45 KiB
XML
1247 lines
45 KiB
XML
<book xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" version="5.0">
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<article xml:id="faq" xreflabel="Frequently Asked Questions">
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<?dbhtml filename="faq.html"?>
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<info><title>Frequently Asked Questions</title>
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<copyright>
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<year>
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2008, 2010
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</year>
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<holder>
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<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.fsf.org">FSF</link>
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</holder>
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</copyright>
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</info>
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<!-- FAQ starts here -->
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<qandaset>
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<!-- General Information -->
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<qandadiv xml:id="faq.info" xreflabel="General Information">
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.what">
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<question xml:id="faq.what.q">
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<para>
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What is libstdc++?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="faq.what.a">
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<para>
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The GNU Standard C++ Library v3 is an ongoing project to
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implement the ISO 14882 Standard C++ library as described in
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chapters 17 through 27 and annex D. For those who want to see
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exactly how far the project has come, or just want the latest
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bleeding-edge code, the up-to-date source is available over
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anonymous SVN, and can even be browsed over
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the <link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/svn.html">web</link>.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.why">
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<question xml:id="q-why">
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<para>
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Why should I use libstdc++?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-why">
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<para>
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The completion of the ISO C++ standardization gave the C++
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community a powerful set of reuseable tools in the form of the C++
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Standard Library. However, all existing C++ implementations are
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(as the Draft Standard used to say) <quote>incomplet and
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incorrekt</quote>, and many suffer from limitations of the compilers
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that use them.
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</para>
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<para>
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The GNU compiler collection
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(<command>gcc</command>, <command>g++</command>, etc) is widely
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considered to be one of the leading compilers in the world. Its
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development is overseen by the
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<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/">GCC team</link>. All of
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the rapid development and near-legendary
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<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/buildstat.html">portability</link>
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that are the hallmarks of an open-source project are being
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applied to libstdc++.
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</para>
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<para>
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That means that all of the Standard classes and functions will be
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freely available and fully compliant. (Such as
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<classname>string</classname>,
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<classname>vector<></classname>, iostreams, and algorithms.)
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Programmers will no longer need to <quote>roll their own</quote>
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nor be worried about platform-specific incompatibilities.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.who">
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<question xml:id="q-who">
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<para>
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Who's in charge of it?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-who">
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<para>
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The libstdc++ project is contributed to by several developers
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all over the world, in the same way as GCC or the Linux kernel.
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Benjamin Kosnik, Gabriel Dos Reis, Phil Edwards, Ulrich Drepper,
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Loren James Rittle, and Paolo Carlini are the lead maintainers of
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the SVN archive.
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</para>
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<para>
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Development and discussion is held on the libstdc++ mailing
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list. Subscribing to the list, or searching the list
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archives, is open to everyone. You can read instructions for
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doing so on the <link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/libstdc++/">homepage</link>.
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If you have questions, ideas, code, or are just curious, sign up!
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.when">
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<question xml:id="q-when">
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<para>
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When is libstdc++ going to be finished?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-when">
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<para>
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Nathan Myers gave the best of all possible answers, responding to
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a Usenet article asking this question: <emphasis>Sooner, if you
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help.</emphasis>
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.how">
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<question xml:id="q-how">
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<para>
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How do I contribute to the effort?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-how">
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<para>
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Here is <link linkend="appendix.contrib">a page devoted to
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this topic</link>. Subscribing to the mailing list (see above, or
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the homepage) is a very good idea if you have something to
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contribute, or if you have spare time and want to
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help. Contributions don't have to be in the form of source code;
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anybody who is willing to help write documentation, for example,
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or has found a bug in code that we all thought was working and is
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willing to provide details, is more than welcome!
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.whereis_old">
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<question xml:id="q-whereis_old">
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<para>
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What happened to the older libg++? I need that!
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-whereis_old">
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<para>
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The most recent libg++ README states that libg++ is no longer
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being actively maintained. It should not be used for new
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projects, and is only being kicked along to support older code.
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</para>
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<para>
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More information in the <link linkend="manual.appendix.porting.backwards">backwards compatibility documentation</link>
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.more_questions">
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<question xml:id="q-more_questions">
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<para>
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What if I have more questions?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-more_questions">
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<para>
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If you have read the README file, and your question remains
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unanswered, then just ask the mailing list. At present, you do not
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need to be subscribed to the list to send a message to it. More
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information is available on the homepage (including how to browse
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the list archives); to send a message to the list,
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use <email>libstdc++@gcc.gnu.org</email>.
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</para>
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<para>
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If you have a question that you think should be included
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here, or if you have a question <emphasis>about</emphasis> a question/answer
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here, please send email to the libstdc++ mailing list, as above.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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</qandadiv>
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<!-- License -->
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<qandadiv xml:id="faq.license" xreflabel="License QA">
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.license.what">
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<question xml:id="q-license.what">
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<para>
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What are the license terms for libstdc++?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-license.what">
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<para>
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See <link linkend="manual.intro.status.license">our license description</link>
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for these and related questions.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.license.any_program">
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<question xml:id="q-license.any_program">
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<para>
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So any program which uses libstdc++ falls under the GPL?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-license.any_program">
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<para>
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No. The special exception permits use of the library in
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proprietary applications.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.license.lgpl">
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<question xml:id="q-license.lgpl">
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<para>
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How is that different from the GNU {Lesser,Library} GPL?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-license.lgpl">
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<para>
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The LGPL requires that users be able to replace the LGPL code with a
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modified version; this is trivial if the library in question is a C
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shared library. But there's no way to make that work with C++, where
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much of the library consists of inline functions and templates, which
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are expanded inside the code that uses the library. So to allow people
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to replace the library code, someone using the library would have to
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distribute their own source, rendering the LGPL equivalent to the GPL.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.license.what_restrictions">
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<question xml:id="q-license.what_restrictions">
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<para>
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I see. So, what restrictions are there on programs that use the library?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-license.what_restrictions">
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<para>
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None. We encourage such programs to be released as open source,
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but we won't punish you or sue you if you choose otherwise.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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</qandadiv>
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<!-- Installation -->
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<qandadiv xml:id="faq.installation" xreflabel="Installation">
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.how_to_install">
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<question xml:id="q-how_to_install">
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<para>How do I install libstdc++?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-how_to_install">
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<para>
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Often libstdc++ comes pre-installed as an integral part of many
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existing GNU/Linux and Unix systems, as well as many embedded
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development tools. It may be necessary to install extra
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development packages to get the headers, or the documentation, or
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the source: please consult your vendor for details.
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</para>
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<para>
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To build and install from the GNU GCC sources, please consult the
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<link linkend="manual.intro.setup">setup
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documentation</link> for detailed
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instructions. You may wish to browse those files ahead
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of time to get a feel for what's required.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.how_to_get_sources">
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<question xml:id="q-how_to_get_sources">
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<para>How does one get current libstdc++ sources?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-how_to_get_sources">
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<para>
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Libstdc++ sources for all official releases can be obtained as
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part of the GCC sources, available from various sites and
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mirrors. A full <link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/mirrors.html">list of
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download sites</link> is provided on the main GCC site.
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</para>
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<para>
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Current libstdc++ sources can always be checked out of the main
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GCC source repository using the appropriate version control
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tool. At this time, that tool
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is <application>Subversion</application>.
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</para>
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<para>
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<application>Subversion</application>, or <acronym>SVN</acronym>, is
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one of several revision control packages. It was selected for GNU
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projects because it's free (speech), free (beer), and very high
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quality. The <link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://subversion.tigris.org"> Subversion
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home page</link> has a better description.
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</para>
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<para>
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The <quote>anonymous client checkout</quote> feature of SVN is
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similar to anonymous FTP in that it allows anyone to retrieve
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the latest libstdc++ sources.
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</para>
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<para>
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For more information
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see <link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/svn.html"><acronym>SVN</acronym>
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details</link>.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.how_to_test">
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<question xml:id="q-how_to_test">
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<para>How do I know if it works?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-how_to_test">
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<para>
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Libstdc++ comes with its own validation testsuite, which includes
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conformance testing, regression testing, ABI testing, and
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performance testing. Please consult the
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<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/install/test.html">testing
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documentation</link> for more details.
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</para>
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<para>
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If you find bugs in the testsuite programs themselves, or if you
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think of a new test program that should be added to the suite,
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<emphasis>please</emphasis> write up your idea and send it to the list!
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.how_to_set_paths">
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<question xml:id="q-how_to_set_paths">
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<para>How do I insure that the dynamically linked library will be found?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-how_to_set_paths">
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<para>
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Depending on your platform and library version, the error message might
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be similar to one of the following:
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</para>
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<screen>
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./a.out: error while loading shared libraries: libstdc++.so.6: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
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/usr/libexec/ld-elf.so.1: Shared object "libstdc++.so.6" not found
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</screen>
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<para>
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This doesn't mean that the shared library isn't installed, only
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that the dynamic linker can't find it. When a dynamically-linked
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executable is run the linker finds and loads the required shared
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libraries by searching a pre-configured list of directories. If
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the directory where you've installed libstdc++ is not in this list
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then the libraries won't be found. The simplest way to fix this is
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to use the <literal>LD_LIBRARY_PATH</literal> environment variable,
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which is a colon-separated list of directories in which the linker
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will search for shared libraries:
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</para>
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<screen>
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LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${prefix}/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
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export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
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</screen>
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<para>
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The exact environment variable to use will depend on your
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platform, e.g. DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH for Darwin,
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LD_LIBRARY_PATH_32/LD_LIBRARY_PATH_64 for Solaris 32-/64-bit
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and SHLIB_PATH for HP-UX.
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</para>
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<para>
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See the man pages for <command>ld</command>, <command>ldd</command>
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and <command>ldconfig</command> for more information. The dynamic
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linker has different names on different platforms but the man page
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is usually called something such as <filename>ld.so/rtld/dld.so</filename>.
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</para>
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<para>
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Using LD_LIBRARY_PATH is not always the best solution, <link linkend="manual.intro.using.linkage.dynamic">Finding Dynamic or Shared
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Libraries</link> in the manual gives some alternatives.
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</para>
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</answer>
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</qandaentry>
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<qandaentry xml:id="faq.what_is_libsupcxx">
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<question xml:id="q-what_is_libsupcxx">
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<para>
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What's libsupc++?
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</para>
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</question>
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<answer xml:id="a-what_is_libsupcxx">
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<para>
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If the only functions from <filename>libstdc++.a</filename>
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which you need are language support functions (those listed in
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<link linkend="std.support">clause 18</link> of the
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standard, e.g., <function>new</function> and
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<function>delete</function>), then try linking against
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<filename>libsupc++.a</filename>, which is a subset of
|
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<filename>libstdc++.a</filename>. (Using <command>gcc</command>
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instead of <command>g++</command> and explicitly linking in
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<filename>libsupc++.a</filename> via <literal>-lsupc++</literal>
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for the final link step will do it). This library contains only
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those support routines, one per object file. But if you are
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using anything from the rest of the library, such as IOStreams
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or vectors, then you'll still need pieces from
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<filename>libstdc++.a</filename>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
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|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.size">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-size">
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<para>
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|
This library is HUGE!
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</para>
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</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-size">
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<para>
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Usually the size of libraries on disk isn't noticeable. When a
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link editor (or simply <quote>linker</quote>) pulls things from a
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static archive library, only the necessary object files are copied
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into your executable, not the entire library. Unfortunately, even
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if you only need a single function or variable from an object file,
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the entire object file is extracted. (There's nothing unique to C++
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or libstdc++ about this; it's just common behavior, given here
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for background reasons.)
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</para>
|
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<para>
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|
Some of the object files which make up libstdc++.a are rather large.
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If you create a statically-linked executable with
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|
<literal>-static</literal>, those large object files are suddenly part
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|
of your executable. Historically the best way around this was to
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|
only place a very few functions (often only a single one) in each
|
|
source/object file; then extracting a single function is the same
|
|
as extracting a single .o file. For libstdc++ this is only
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|
possible to a certain extent; the object files in question contain
|
|
template classes and template functions, pre-instantiated, and
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|
splitting those up causes severe maintenance headaches.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
On supported platforms, libstdc++ takes advantage of garbage
|
|
collection in the GNU linker to get a result similar to separating
|
|
each symbol into a separate source and object files. On these platforms,
|
|
GNU ld can place each function and variable into its own
|
|
section in a .o file. The GNU linker can then perform garbage
|
|
collection on unused sections; this reduces the situation to only
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|
copying needed functions into the executable, as before, but all
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|
happens automatically.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
</qandadiv>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!-- Platform-Specific Issues -->
|
|
<qandadiv xml:id="faq.platform-specific" xreflabel="Platform-Specific Issues">
|
|
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.other_compilers">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-other_compilers">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Can libstdc++ be used with non-GNU compilers?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-other_compilers">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Perhaps.
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|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Since the goal of ISO Standardization is for all C++
|
|
implementations to be able to share code, libstdc++ should be
|
|
usable under any ISO-compliant compiler, at least in theory.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
However, the reality is that libstdc++ is targeted and optimized
|
|
for GCC/g++. This means that often libstdc++ uses specific,
|
|
non-standard features of g++ that are not present in older
|
|
versions of proprietary compilers. It may take as much as a year or two
|
|
after an official release of GCC that contains these features for
|
|
proprietary tools to support these constructs.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
In the near past, specific released versions of libstdc++ have
|
|
been known to work with versions of the EDG C++ compiler, and
|
|
vendor-specific proprietary C++ compilers such as the Intel ICC
|
|
C++ compiler.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.solaris_long_long">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-solaris_long_long">
|
|
<para>
|
|
No 'long long' type on Solaris?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-solaris_long_long">
|
|
<para>
|
|
By default we try to support the C99 <type>long long</type> type.
|
|
This requires that certain functions from your C library be present.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Up through release 3.0.2 the platform-specific tests performed by
|
|
libstdc++ were too general, resulting in a conservative approach
|
|
to enabling the <type>long long</type> code paths. The most
|
|
commonly reported platform affected was Solaris.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This has been fixed for libstdc++ releases greater than 3.0.3.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.predefined">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-predefined">
|
|
<para>
|
|
<constant>_XOPEN_SOURCE</constant> and <constant>_GNU_SOURCE</constant> are always defined?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-predefined">
|
|
<para>On Solaris, g++ (but not gcc) always defines the preprocessor
|
|
macro <constant>_XOPEN_SOURCE</constant>. On GNU/Linux, the same happens
|
|
with <constant>_GNU_SOURCE</constant>. (This is not an exhaustive list;
|
|
other macros and other platforms are also affected.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>These macros are typically used in C library headers, guarding new
|
|
versions of functions from their older versions. The C++ standard
|
|
library includes the C standard library, but it requires the C90
|
|
version, which for backwards-compatibility reasons is often not the
|
|
default for many vendors.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>More to the point, the C++ standard requires behavior which is only
|
|
available on certain platforms after certain symbols are defined.
|
|
Usually the issue involves I/O-related typedefs. In order to
|
|
ensure correctness, the compiler simply predefines those symbols.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>Note that it's not enough to #define them only when the library is
|
|
being built (during installation). Since we don't have an 'export'
|
|
keyword, much of the library exists as headers, which means that
|
|
the symbols must also be defined as your programs are parsed and
|
|
compiled.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>To see which symbols are defined, look for CPLUSPLUS_CPP_SPEC in
|
|
the gcc config headers for your target (and try changing them to
|
|
see what happens when building complicated code). You can also run
|
|
<command>g++ -E -dM - < /dev/null"</command> to display
|
|
a list of predefined macros for any particular installation.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>This has been discussed on the mailing lists
|
|
<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/cgi-bin/htsearch?method=and&format=builtin-long&sort=score&words=_XOPEN_SOURCE+Solaris">quite a bit</link>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>This method is something of a wart. We'd like to find a cleaner
|
|
solution, but nobody yet has contributed the time.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.darwin_ctype">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-darwin_ctype">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Mac OS X <filename class="headerfile">ctype.h</filename> is broken! How can I fix it?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-darwin_ctype">
|
|
<para>This is a long-standing bug in the OS X support. Fortunately,
|
|
the patch is quite simple, and well-known.
|
|
<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/2002-03/msg00817.html"> Here's a
|
|
link to the solution</link>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.threads_i386">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-threads_i386">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Threading is broken on i386?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-threads_i386">
|
|
<para>
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>Support for atomic integer operations is/was broken on i386
|
|
platforms. The assembly code accidentally used opcodes that are
|
|
only available on the i486 and later. So if you configured GCC
|
|
to target, for example, i386-linux, but actually used the programs
|
|
on an i686, then you would encounter no problems. Only when
|
|
actually running the code on a i386 will the problem appear.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>This is fixed in 3.2.2.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.atomic_mips">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-atomic_mips">
|
|
<para>
|
|
MIPS atomic operations
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-atomic_mips">
|
|
<para>
|
|
The atomic locking routines for MIPS targets requires MIPS II
|
|
and later. A patch went in just after the 3.3 release to
|
|
make mips* use the generic implementation instead. You can also
|
|
configure for mipsel-elf as a workaround.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The mips*-*-linux* port continues to use the MIPS II routines, and more
|
|
work in this area is expected.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.linux_glibc">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-linux_glibc">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Recent GNU/Linux glibc required?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-linux_glibc">
|
|
<para>When running on GNU/Linux, libstdc++ 3.2.1 (shared library version
|
|
5.0.1) and later uses localization and formatting code from the system
|
|
C library (glibc) version 2.2.5 which contains necessary bugfixes.
|
|
Most GNU/Linux distros make more recent versions available now.
|
|
libstdc++ 4.6.0 and later require glibc 2.3 or later for this
|
|
localization and formatting code.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>The guideline is simple: the more recent the C++ library, the
|
|
more recent the C library. (This is also documented in the main
|
|
GCC installation instructions.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.freebsd_wchar">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-freebsd_wchar">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Can't use wchar_t/wstring on FreeBSD
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-freebsd_wchar">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Older versions of FreeBSD's C library do not have sufficient
|
|
support for wide character functions, and as a result the
|
|
libstdc++ configury decides that wchar_t support should be
|
|
disabled. In addition, the libstdc++ platform checks that
|
|
enabled <type>wchar_t</type> were quite strict, and not granular
|
|
enough to detect when the minimal support to
|
|
enable <type>wchar_t</type> and C++ library structures
|
|
like <classname>wstring</classname> were present. This impacted Solaris,
|
|
Darwin, and BSD variants, and is fixed in libstdc++ versions post 4.1.0.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
</qandadiv>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!-- Known Bugs -->
|
|
<qandadiv xml:id="faq.known_bugs" xreflabel="Known Bugs">
|
|
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.what_works">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-what_works">
|
|
<para>
|
|
What works already?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-what_works">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Short answer: Pretty much everything <emphasis>works</emphasis>
|
|
except for some corner cases. Support for localization
|
|
in <classname>locale</classname> may be incomplete on non-GNU
|
|
platforms. Also dependant on the underlying platform is support
|
|
for <type>wchar_t</type> and <type>long
|
|
long</type> specializations, and details of thread support.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Long answer: See the implementation status pages for
|
|
<link linkend="status.iso.1998">C++98</link>,
|
|
<link linkend="status.iso.tr1">TR1</link>, and
|
|
<link linkend="status.iso.2011">C++11</link>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.standard_bugs">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-standard_bugs">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Bugs in the ISO C++ language or library specification
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-standard_bugs">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Unfortunately, there are some.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
For those people who are not part of the ISO Library Group
|
|
(i.e., nearly all of us needing to read this page in the first
|
|
place), a public list of the library defects is occasionally
|
|
published on <link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
|
|
xlink:href="http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/">the WG21
|
|
website</link>.
|
|
Some of these issues have resulted in code changes in libstdc++.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you think you've discovered a new bug that is not listed,
|
|
please post a message describing your problem to the author of
|
|
the library issues list or the Usenet group comp.lang.c++.moderated.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.compiler_bugs">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-compiler_bugs">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Bugs in the compiler (gcc/g++) and not libstdc++
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-compiler_bugs">
|
|
<para>
|
|
On occasion, the compiler is wrong. Please be advised that this
|
|
happens much less often than one would think, and avoid jumping to
|
|
conclusions.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
First, examine the ISO C++ standard. Second, try another compiler
|
|
or an older version of the GNU compilers. Third, you can find more
|
|
information on the libstdc++ and the GCC mailing lists: search
|
|
these lists with terms describing your issue.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Before reporting a bug, please examine the
|
|
<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/bugs/">bugs database</link> with the
|
|
category set to <quote>g++</quote>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
</qandadiv>
|
|
|
|
<!-- Known Non-Bugs -->
|
|
<qandadiv xml:id="faq.known_non-bugs" xreflabel="Known Non-Bugs">
|
|
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.stream_reopening_fails">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-stream_reopening_fails">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Reopening a stream fails
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-stream_reopening_fails">
|
|
<para>
|
|
One of the most-reported non-bug reports. Executing a sequence like:
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<literallayout class="normal">
|
|
#include <fstream>
|
|
...
|
|
std::fstream fs(<quote>a_file</quote>);
|
|
// .
|
|
// . do things with fs...
|
|
// .
|
|
fs.close();
|
|
fs.open(<quote>a_new_file</quote>);
|
|
</literallayout>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
All operations on the re-opened <varname>fs</varname> will fail, or at
|
|
least act very strangely. Yes, they often will, especially if
|
|
<varname>fs</varname> reached the EOF state on the previous file. The
|
|
reason is that the state flags are <emphasis>not</emphasis> cleared
|
|
on a successful call to open(). The standard unfortunately did
|
|
not specify behavior in this case, and to everybody's great sorrow,
|
|
the <link linkend="manual.intro.status.bugs">proposed LWG resolution in
|
|
DR #22</link> is to leave the flags unchanged. You must insert a call
|
|
to <function>fs.clear()</function> between the calls to close() and open(),
|
|
and then everything will work like we all expect it to work.
|
|
<emphasis>Update:</emphasis> for GCC 4.0 we implemented the resolution
|
|
of <link linkend="manual.intro.status.bugs">DR #409</link> and open()
|
|
now calls <function>clear()</function> on success!
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.wefcxx_verbose">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-wefcxx_verbose">
|
|
<para>
|
|
-Weffc++ complains too much
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-wefcxx_verbose">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Many warnings are emitted when <literal>-Weffc++</literal> is used. Making
|
|
libstdc++ <literal>-Weffc++</literal>-clean is not a goal of the project,
|
|
for a few reasons. Mainly, that option tries to enforce
|
|
object-oriented programming, while the Standard Library isn't
|
|
necessarily trying to be OO.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
We do, however, try to have libstdc++ sources as clean as possible. If
|
|
you see some simple changes that pacify <literal>-Weffc++</literal>
|
|
without other drawbacks, send us a patch.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.ambiguous_overloads">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-ambiguous_overloads">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Ambiguous overloads after including an old-style header
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-ambiguous_overloads">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Another problem is the <literal>rel_ops</literal> namespace and the template
|
|
comparison operator functions contained therein. If they become
|
|
visible in the same namespace as other comparison functions
|
|
(e.g., <quote>using</quote> them and the <iterator> header),
|
|
then you will suddenly be faced with huge numbers of ambiguity
|
|
errors. This was discussed on the -v3 list; Nathan Myers
|
|
<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/libstdc++/2001-01/msg00247.html">sums
|
|
things up here</link>. The collisions with vector/string iterator
|
|
types have been fixed for 3.1.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.v2_headers">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-v2_headers">
|
|
<para>
|
|
The g++-3 headers are <emphasis>not ours</emphasis>
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-v2_headers">
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you are using headers in
|
|
<filename>${prefix}/include/g++-3</filename>, or if the installed
|
|
library's name looks like <filename>libstdc++-2.10.a</filename> or
|
|
<filename>libstdc++-libc6-2.10.so</filename>, then you are using the
|
|
old libstdc++-v2 library, which is nonstandard and
|
|
unmaintained. Do not report problems with -v2 to the -v3
|
|
mailing list.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
For GCC versions 3.0 and 3.1 the libstdc++ header files are
|
|
installed in <filename>${prefix}/include/g++-v3</filename> (see the
|
|
'v'?). Starting with version 3.2 the headers are installed in
|
|
<filename>${prefix}/include/c++/${version}</filename> as this prevents
|
|
headers from previous versions being found by mistake.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.boost_concept_checks">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-boost_concept_checks">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Errors about <emphasis>*Concept</emphasis> and
|
|
<emphasis>constraints</emphasis> in the STL
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-boost_concept_checks">
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you see compilation errors containing messages about
|
|
<errortext>foo Concept </errortext>and something to do with a
|
|
<errortext>constraints</errortext> member function, then most
|
|
likely you have violated one of the requirements for types used
|
|
during instantiation of template containers and functions. For
|
|
example, EqualityComparableConcept appears if your types must be
|
|
comparable with == and you have not provided this capability (a
|
|
typo, or wrong visibility, or you just plain forgot, etc).
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
More information, including how to optionally enable/disable the
|
|
checks, is available in the
|
|
<link linkend="std.diagnostics.concept_checking">Diagnostics</link>.
|
|
chapter of the manual.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.dlopen_crash">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-dlopen_crash">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Program crashes when using library code in a
|
|
dynamically-loaded library
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-dlopen_crash">
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you are using the C++ library across dynamically-loaded
|
|
objects, make certain that you are passing the correct options
|
|
when compiling and linking:
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<literallayout class="normal">
|
|
// compile your library components
|
|
g++ -fPIC -c a.cc
|
|
g++ -fPIC -c b.cc
|
|
...
|
|
g++ -fPIC -c z.cc
|
|
|
|
// create your library
|
|
g++ -fPIC -shared -rdynamic -o libfoo.so a.o b.o ... z.o
|
|
|
|
// link the executable
|
|
g++ -fPIC -rdynamic -o foo ... -L. -lfoo -ldl
|
|
</literallayout>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.memory_leaks">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-memory_leaks">
|
|
<para>
|
|
<quote>Memory leaks</quote> in containers
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-memory_leaks">
|
|
<para>
|
|
A few people have reported that the standard containers appear
|
|
to leak memory when tested with memory checkers such as
|
|
<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://valgrind.org/">valgrind</link>.
|
|
Under some configurations the library's allocators keep free memory in a
|
|
pool for later reuse, rather than returning it to the OS. Although
|
|
this memory is always reachable by the library and is never
|
|
lost, memory debugging tools can report it as a leak. If you
|
|
want to test the library for memory leaks please read
|
|
<link linkend="debug.memory">Tips for memory leak hunting</link>
|
|
first.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.list_size_on">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-list_size_on">
|
|
<para>
|
|
list::size() is O(n)!
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-list_size_on">
|
|
<para>
|
|
See
|
|
the <link linkend="std.containers">Containers</link>
|
|
chapter.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.easy_to_fix">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-easy_to_fix">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Aw, that's easy to fix!
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-easy_to_fix">
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you have found a bug in the library and you think you have
|
|
a working fix, then send it in! The main GCC site has a page
|
|
on <link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://gcc.gnu.org/contribute.html">submitting
|
|
patches</link> that covers the procedure, but for libstdc++ you
|
|
should also send the patch to our mailing list in addition to
|
|
the GCC patches mailing list. The libstdc++
|
|
<link linkend="appendix.contrib">contributors' page</link>
|
|
also talks about how to submit patches.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
In addition to the description, the patch, and the ChangeLog
|
|
entry, it is a Good Thing if you can additionally create a small
|
|
test program to test for the presence of the bug that your patch
|
|
fixes. Bugs have a way of being reintroduced; if an old bug
|
|
creeps back in, it will be caught immediately by the testsuite -
|
|
but only if such a test exists.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
</qandadiv>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!-- Miscellaneous -->
|
|
<qandadiv xml:id="faq.misc" xreflabel="Miscellaneous">
|
|
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.iterator_as_pod">
|
|
<question xml:id="faq.iterator_as_pod_q">
|
|
<para>
|
|
string::iterator is not char*; vector<T>::iterator is not T*
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="faq.iterator_as_pod_a">
|
|
<para>
|
|
If you have code that depends on container<T> iterators
|
|
being implemented as pointer-to-T, your code is broken. It's
|
|
considered a feature, not a bug, that libstdc++ points this out.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
While there are arguments for iterators to be implemented in
|
|
that manner, A) they aren't very good ones in the long term,
|
|
and B) they were never guaranteed by the Standard anyway. The
|
|
type-safety achieved by making iterators a real class rather
|
|
than a typedef for <type>T*</type> outweighs nearly all opposing
|
|
arguments.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Code which does assume that a vector iterator <varname>i</varname>
|
|
is a pointer can often be fixed by changing <varname>i</varname> in
|
|
certain expressions to <varname>&*i</varname>. Future revisions
|
|
of the Standard are expected to bless this usage for
|
|
vector<> (but not for basic_string<>).
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.what_is_next">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-what_is_next">
|
|
<para>
|
|
What's next after libstdc++?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-what_is_next">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Hopefully, not much. The goal of libstdc++ is to produce a
|
|
fully-compliant, fully-portable Standard Library. After that,
|
|
we're mostly done: there won't <emphasis>be</emphasis> any
|
|
more compliance work to do.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
There is an effort underway to add significant extensions to
|
|
the standard library specification. The latest version of
|
|
this effort is described in
|
|
<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2005/n1836.pdf">
|
|
The C++ Library Technical Report 1</link>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.sgi_stl">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-sgi_stl">
|
|
<para>
|
|
What about the STL from SGI?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-sgi_stl">
|
|
<para>
|
|
The <link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl/">STL from SGI</link>,
|
|
version 3.3, was the final merge of the STL codebase. The
|
|
code in libstdc++ contains many fixes and changes, and
|
|
the SGI code is no longer under active
|
|
development. We expect that no future merges will take place.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
In particular, <classname>string</classname> is not from SGI and makes no
|
|
use of their "rope" class (which is included as an
|
|
optional extension), nor is <classname>valarray</classname> and some others.
|
|
Classes like <classname>vector<></classname> are, but have been
|
|
extensively modified.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
More information on the evolution of libstdc++ can be found at the
|
|
<link linkend="appendix.porting.api">API
|
|
evolution</link>
|
|
and <link linkend="manual.appendix.porting.backwards">backwards
|
|
compatibility</link> documentation.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The FAQ for SGI's STL (one jump off of their main page) is
|
|
still recommended reading.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.extensions_and_backwards_compat">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-extensions_and_backwards_compat">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Extensions and Backward Compatibility
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-extensions_and_backwards_compat">
|
|
<para>
|
|
See the <link linkend="manual.appendix.porting.backwards">link</link> on backwards compatibility and <link linkend="appendix.porting.api">link</link> on evolution.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.tr1_support">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-tr1_support">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Does libstdc++ support TR1?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-tr1_support">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Yes.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The C++ Standard Library Technical Report adds many new features to
|
|
the library. The latest version of this effort is described in
|
|
<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2005/n1836.pdf">
|
|
Technical Report 1</link>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The implementation status of TR1 in libstdc++ can be tracked <link linkend="status.iso.tr1">on the TR1 status
|
|
page</link>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.get_iso_cxx">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-get_iso_cxx">
|
|
<para>How do I get a copy of the ISO C++ Standard?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-get_iso_cxx">
|
|
<para>
|
|
Copies of the full ISO 14882 standard are available on line via
|
|
the ISO mirror site for committee members. Non-members, or those
|
|
who have not paid for the privilege of sitting on the committee
|
|
and sustained their two-meeting commitment for voting rights, may
|
|
get a copy of the standard from their respective national
|
|
standards organization. In the USA, this national standards
|
|
organization is ANSI and their website is
|
|
right <link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.ansi.org">here</link>. (And if
|
|
you've already registered with them, clicking this link will take
|
|
you to directly to the place where you can
|
|
<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://webstore.ansi.org/RecordDetail.aspx?sku=ISO%2FIEC+14882:2003">buy the standard on-line</link>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Who is your country's member body? Visit the
|
|
<link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.iso.ch/">ISO homepage</link> and find out!
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The 2003 version of the standard (the 1998 version plus TC1) is
|
|
available in print, ISBN 0-470-84674-7.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.what_is_abi">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-what_is_abi">
|
|
<para>
|
|
What's an ABI and why is it so messy?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-what_is_abi">
|
|
<para>
|
|
<acronym>ABI</acronym> stands for <quote>Application Binary
|
|
Interface</quote>. Conventionally, it refers to a great
|
|
mass of details about how arguments are arranged on the call
|
|
stack and/or in registers, and how various types are arranged
|
|
and padded in structs. A single CPU design may suffer
|
|
multiple ABIs designed by different development tool vendors
|
|
who made different choices, or even by the same vendor for
|
|
different target applications or compiler versions. In ideal
|
|
circumstances the CPU designer presents one ABI and all the
|
|
OSes and compilers use it. In practice every ABI omits
|
|
details that compiler implementers (consciously or
|
|
accidentally) must choose for themselves.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
That ABI definition suffices for compilers to generate code so a
|
|
program can interact safely with an OS and its lowest-level libraries.
|
|
Users usually want an ABI to encompass more detail, allowing libraries
|
|
built with different compilers (or different releases of the same
|
|
compiler!) to be linked together. For C++, this includes many more
|
|
details than for C, and CPU designers (for good reasons elaborated
|
|
below) have not stepped up to publish C++ ABIs. The details include
|
|
virtual function implementation, struct inheritance layout, name
|
|
mangling, and exception handling. Such an ABI has been defined for
|
|
GNU C++, and is immediately useful for embedded work relying only on
|
|
a <quote>free-standing implementation</quote> that doesn't include (much
|
|
of) the standard library. It is a good basis for the work to come.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
A useful C++ ABI must also incorporate many details of the standard
|
|
library implementation. For a C ABI, the layouts of a few structs
|
|
(such as FILE, stat, jmpbuf, and the like) and a few macros suffice.
|
|
For C++, the details include the complete set of names of functions
|
|
and types used, the offsets of class members and virtual functions,
|
|
and the actual definitions of all inlines. C++ exposes many more
|
|
library details to the caller than C does. It makes defining
|
|
a complete ABI a much bigger undertaking, and requires not just
|
|
documenting library implementation details, but carefully designing
|
|
those details so that future bug fixes and optimizations don't
|
|
force breaking the ABI.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
There are ways to help isolate library implementation details from the
|
|
ABI, but they trade off against speed. Library details used in
|
|
inner loops (e.g., getchar) must be exposed and frozen for all
|
|
time, but many others may reasonably be kept hidden from user code,
|
|
so they may later be changed. Deciding which, and implementing
|
|
the decisions, must happen before you can reasonably document a
|
|
candidate C++ ABI that encompasses the standard library.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
<qandaentry xml:id="faq.size_equals_capacity">
|
|
<question xml:id="q-size_equals_capacity">
|
|
<para>
|
|
How do I make std::vector<T>::capacity() == std::vector<T>::size?
|
|
</para>
|
|
</question>
|
|
<answer xml:id="a-size_equals_capacity">
|
|
<para>
|
|
The standard idiom for deallocating a <classname>vector<T></classname>'s
|
|
unused memory is to create a temporary copy of the vector and swap their
|
|
contents, e.g. for <classname>vector<T> v</classname>
|
|
</para>
|
|
<literallayout class="normal">
|
|
std::vector<T>(v).swap(v);
|
|
</literallayout>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The copy will take O(n) time and the swap is constant time.
|
|
</para>
|
|
<para>
|
|
See <link linkend="strings.string.shrink">Shrink-to-fit
|
|
strings</link> for a similar solution for strings.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</answer>
|
|
</qandaentry>
|
|
|
|
</qandadiv>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!-- FAQ ends here -->
|
|
</qandaset>
|
|
|
|
</article>
|
|
|
|
</book>
|