4.3.4 Library Search Path and Order—Dynamic Linking

With dynamic libraries, changing the library search path and order of loading differs from the static case. Actual linking takes place at runtime rather than build time.

4.3.4.1 Specifying Dynamic Libraries at Build Time

When building the executable file, the linker records the paths to shared libraries in the executable itself. These search paths can be specified using the -Rpath option. This is in contrast to the -Ldir option which indicates at buildtime where to find the library specified by a -llibrary option, but does not record this path into the binary executable.

The directory paths that were built in when the executable was created can be viewed using the dump command.

Example: List the directory paths built into a.out:

demo% f95 program.f -R/home/proj/libs -L/home/proj/libs -lmylib
demo% dump -Lv a.out | grep RPATH
[5]      RPATH    /home/proj/libs:/opt/SUNWspro/lib

4.3.4.2 Specifying Dynamic Libraries at Runtime

At runtime, the linker determines where to find the dynamic libraries that an executable needs from:

• The value of LD_LIBRARY_PATH at runtime

• The paths that had been specified by -R at the time the executable file was built

As noted earlier, use of LD_LIBRARY_PATH can have unexpected side-effects and is not recommended.

4.3.4.3 Fixing Errors During Dynamic Linking

When the dynamic linker cannot locate a needed library, it issues this error message:

ld.so: prog: fatal: libmylib.so: can’t open file:

The message indicates that the libraries are not where they are supposed to be. Perhaps you specified paths to shared libraries when the executable was built, but the libraries have subsequently been moved. For example, you might have built a.out with your own dynamic libraries in /my/libs/, and then later moved the libraries to another directory.

Use ldd to determine where the executable expects to find the libraries:

demo% ldd a.out
libfui.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfui.so.1
    libfai.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfai.so.1
    libfai2.so.1 =>  /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfai2.so.1
    libfsumai.so.1 =>    /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfsumai.so.1
    libfprodai.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfprodai.so.1
    libfminlai.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfminlai.so.1
    libfmaxlai.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfmaxlai.so.1
    libfminvai.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfminvai.so.1
    libfmaxvai.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfmaxvai.so.1
    libfsu.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libfsu.so.1
    libsunmath.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libsunmath.so.1
    libm.so.1 =>     /usr/lib/libm.so.1
    libc.so.1 =>     /usr/lib/libc.so.1
    libdl.so.1 =>    /usr/lib/libdl.so.1
    /usr/platform/SUNW,Ultra-5_10/lib/libc_psr.so.1

If possible, move or copy the libraries into the proper directory or make a soft link to the directory (using ln -s) in the directory that the linker is searching. Or, it could be that LD_LIBRARY_PATH is not set correctly. Check that LD_LIBRARY_PATH includes the path to the needed libraries at runtime.