Generating a Shared Object

When the link-editor is generating a shared object, it will by default allow undefined symbols to remain at the end of the link-edit. This allows the shared object to import symbols from either relocatable objects or other shared objects when it is used to build a dynamic executable. The link-editor's -z defs option can be used to force a fatal error if any undefined symbols remain.

In general, a self-contained shared object, in which all references to external symbols are satisfied by named dependencies, provides maximum flexibility. In this case the shared object can be employed by many users, without those users having to determine and establish dependencies to satisfy the shared objects requirements.