Re: can anyone pls explain -fPIC option?

[Arun Sharma <arun@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, Nov 25, 2000 at 11:49:44AM -0500, kamesh jayachandran wrote:
> I have seen an option -fPIC while compiling some programs using gcc.I
> refered the man pages,but could not understand the meaning.Can anyone
> explain abt that to me?

gcc doesn't have everything in man pages. Look in gcc.info:

`-fpic'
     Generate position-independent code (PIC) suitable for use in a
     shared library, if supported for the target machine.  Such code
     accesses all constant addresses through a global offset table
     (GOT).  The dynamic loader resolves the GOT entries when the
     program starts (the dynamic loader is not part of GCC; it is part
     of the operating system).  If the GOT size for the linked
     executable exceeds a machine-specific maximum size, you get an
     error message from the linker indicating that `-fpic' does not
     work; in that case, recompile with `-fPIC' instead.  (These
     maximums are 16k on the m88k, 8k on the Sparc, and 32k on the m68k
     and RS/6000.  The 386 has no such limit.)

     Position-independent code requires special support, and therefore
     works only on certain machines.  For the 386, GCC supports PIC for
     System V but not for the Sun 386i.  Code generated for the IBM
     RS/6000 is always position-independent.

`-fPIC'
     If supported for the target machine, emit position-independent
     code, suitable for dynamic linking and avoiding any limit on the
     size of the global offset table.  This option makes a difference
     on the m68k, m88k, and the Sparc.

     Position-independent code requires special support, and therefore
     works only on certain machines.

	-Arun