Using a Relocatable Library

MPE/iX relocatable libraries (RLs) give you the ability to use one or more libraries to resolve references at link time.

HP Link Editor/XL can build RLs from independent relocatable object modules and by copying relocatable object modules from one RL to another. It can also extract a copies of relocatable object modules from an RL and place them in a relocatable object file.

On 900 Series HP 3000 systems, an RL automatically expands until it reaches the maximum number of relocatable object modules it can contain. You can improve its structure and increase the size of its internal tables to allow for an additional 25 percent expansion of the library symbol table. If an RL reaches its relocatable object module limit, you can create a new library with a larger limit and copy the contents of the old library to the new one.

When HP Link Editor/XL resolves an external reference, it merges the entire relocatable object module containing that routine into the executable program file, even if only one procedure in that module is required. If the called procedure is one of several procedures in the relocatable object module, the entire module is added to the program file. To avoid adding unnecessary code due to including unreferenced procedures in an executable program file, keep the library routines in separate source files.

You can perform the following operations on RLs:

You can copy a relocatable object module from a relocatable object file into a relocatable library (RL). Creating a searchable RL requires using HP Link Editor/XL to create the RL and placing relocatable object files in it. For example, the commands

   LINKEDIT

   LinkEd> BUILDRL NEWRL

   LinkEd> ADDRL FROM=LIB1EX1

   LinkEd> EXIT

enter HP Link Editor/XL, build a new RL named NEWRL, the contents of a relocatable object file named LIB1EX1 to it, and exit HP Link Editor/XL. For detailed information on manipulating an RL, refer to Link Editor/XL Reference Manual (32650-90030).