[ofw] removing the dpecial debug file

[Hefty, Sean]

Application binary interface.  If you change the ABI, then you require that an application be recompiled.

The relevance is that complib presents different ABIs for debug and release builds.  An application that has been built against the debug version of complib cannot run against the released version of complib.

IMO, this is a problem, since you can never test a single binary against both.  Re-compiling the code may introduce a bug.
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Uri Habusha [mailto:urih at mellanox.co.il]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 12:45 PM
> To: Hefty, Sean; Fab Tillier; ofw at lists.openfabrics.org; Smith, Stan
> Subject: RE: removing the dpecial debug file
> 
> Sorry for the ignorant, but what is ABI and why it related to this
> discussion.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Hefty, Sean [mailto:sean.hefty at intel.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 10:36 PM
> To: Fab Tillier; Uri Habusha; ofw at lists.openfabrics.org; Smith, Stan
> Subject: RE: removing the dpecial debug file
> 
> > You would need to ensure that the debug and release libraries have
> > identical ABIs.
> 
> yes - I believe this is desirable.  Debug versions of the library aren't
> just for application developers.  They can also be used to debug issues in
> the field, where it may not be possible to re-compile the application at
> all.
> 
> And, really, who ever heard of a debug version of a library having a
> different ABI than the released version?
> 
> It would probably be better to first make the ABIs the same, then rename
> the libraries.
> 
> - Sean