D hates to be dynamic linked

Jonathan M Davis jmdavisProg at gmail.com
Sat Feb 20 18:08:57 PST 2010


Steve Teale wrote:

> On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:41:20 -0500, g wrote:
> 
>> it is a real pain trying to make a plugin from d. I love D2 but I would
>> even abandon it if there is solution with a compiler that at least
>> supports D1 and has a solution for dynamic linking.
> 
> There's no way through. I was well on the way to something like Tomcat
> for D when it dawned on me that which ever way you turn, there's no
> support for dynamic loading - GDC included (shared libraries don't work).
> 
> I tried to get some attention for this problem again a couple of weeks
> ago (see the "special treat" thread), and everyone who replied said "yes,
> we really need this", but Walter does not want to go there.
> 
> I just don't understand why this is not at the top of the urgent problems
> list, unless as I've said before D is just a language that forms a basis
> for the discussion of cool features that should be in compilers. If
> that's the case we can all continue to visit the D newsgroups for some
> intellectual stimulation (in Brit speak that's called intellectual
> wanking). But for the job, we're stuck with C++, C#, or Java.
> 
> So sad!
> 
> Steve

Well, obviously, there are more pressing things from Walter's perspective. 
For many programs, dynamic libraries are irrelevant, and there are major 
issues which are relevant to any programming project in D - dynamically 
linked or otherwise. So, presumably those are more important. I'm sure that 
dynamically linked libraries will get to the top of the priority queue 
eventually, but it looks like those who need it will just have to hold tight 
for now - as irritating as that may be. Being vocal about it might help push 
it up, though it might not (Walter tends to care about what he cares about 
whatever others might say). If it's a true showstopper for you, you can 
always contribute towards getting it working.

Most programs can be written just fine without dynamically linked libraries, 
so I can certainly see why Walter would not consider it a high priority with 
everything else on his plate, but I do hope that he gets to it eventually.

- Jonathan M Davis



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