Re: bignum branch

[Andy Moreton <andrewjmoreton@gmail.com>]

On Fri 10 Aug 2018, Paul Eggert wrote:

> Andy Moreton wrote:
>> I don't know how to fix the configury and makefiles to ensure it
>> links against a static library if it is available.
>
> Please keep in mind that we shouldn't prefer static linking on GNU/Linux
> platforms, even if a static library is available. These systems generally have
> a libgmp managed by standard tools like dnf or apt, and so the advantages
> static linking has on MS-Windows don't apply.

Both static and dynamic linking work on Windows if the right headers are
installed to declare functions properly. The fact that the GMP project
cannot organise its public headers properly is an irritation.

Performance may be faster on any platform using static linking
(depending on the details of the ABI and runtime linker).

GCC links GMP statically. Platform package manager updates to shared
libraries are more likely to cause breakage than static linking.

    AndyM