Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> It's just not a viable technology for todays' ecosystems.

I disagree, obviously. The problem you cite is very real, of course, but there are numerous ways to address it.

I think that applications that avoid shared libraries do so because that's the path of least resistance.




There really aren't numerous ways. You statically link, vendor your dependencies and bundle your app, specify version numbers for your .so dependencies, or use symbol versions.

The latter two are the only options that involve any sharing of libraries. And avoiding it isn't just a path of least resistance but one of reliability and reproducibility. If I cannot pin the dependency down to the exact bytes I tested it with, I cannot tell you if you should trust the bits that get mapped and executed on your system.

At the same time, the benefits to shared libraries are really diminishing: https://drewdevault.com/dynlib.

It's not just that it's easier to ship statically linked or bundled apps. It's more reliable and doing the alternative doesn't have many benefits.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: