Object Hierarchies

If an initial object is obtained from a dlopen(3C), and uses dlopen() to open a secondary object, both objects are assigned to a unique group. This situation can prevent either object from locating symbols from the other.

In some implementations the initial object has to export symbols for the relocation of the secondary object. This requirement can be satisfied by one of two mechanisms.

• Making the initial object an explicit dependency of the second object.

• Use the RTLD_PARENT mode flag to dlopen(3C) the secondary object.

If the initial object is an explicit dependency of the secondary object, the initial object is assigned to the secondary objects' group. The initial object is therefore able to provide symbols for the secondary objects' relocation.

If many objects can use dlopen(3C) to open the secondary object, and each of these initial objects must export the same symbols to satisfy the secondary objects' relocation, then the secondary object cannot be assigned an explicit dependency. In this case, the dlopen(3C) mode of the secondary object can be augmented with the RTLD_PARENT flag. This flag causes the propagation of the secondary objects' group to the initial object in the same manner as an explicit dependency would do.

There is one small difference between these two techniques. If you specify an explicit dependency, the dependency itself becomes part of the secondary objects' dlopen(3C) dependency tree, and thus becomes available for symbol lookup with dlsym(3C). If you obtain the secondary object with RTLD_PARENT, the initial object does not become available for symbol lookup with dlsym(3C).

When a secondary object is obtained by dlopen(3C) from an initial object with global symbol visibility, the RTLD_PARENT mode is both redundant and harmless. This case commonly occurs when dlopen(3C) is called from an application or from one of the dependencies of the application.