Generating a Shared Object Output File

When the link-editor is generating a shared object output file, undefined symbols are allowed to remain at the end of the link-edit. This default behavior allows the shared object to import symbols from a dynamic executable that defines the shared object as a dependency.

The link-editor's -z defs option can be used to force a fatal error if any undefined symbols remain. This option is recommended when creating any shared objects. Shared objects that reference symbols from an application can use the -z defs option, together with defining the symbols by using an extern mapfile directive. See Defining Additional Symbols with a mapfile.

A self-contained shared object, in which all references to external symbols are satisfied by named dependencies, provides maximum flexibility. The shared object can be employed by many users without those users having to determine and establish dependencies to satisfy the shared object's requirements.