From: "David S." <dgjs@...>
Date: 2001-01-14T02:47:39+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:9249] Problem with C extensions


I've installed Ruby 1.6.2 on an OpenBSD 2.8 system, and I'm having a
problem with C-based extensions from the Ruby application archive,
in particular the zlib, Berkeley DB, and Postgesql ones.  I can
compile and install them, but when I try to use them (require 'zlib')
in irb or a program, the interpreter will crash and dump core. That
doesn't happen with pure Ruby extensions, like drb.  After some 
investigation, I found part of the answer.  Below is part of the 
Makefile produced by "ruby extconf.rb --with-pgsql- ..."

SHELL = /bin/sh

#### Start of system configuration section. ####

srcdir = .
topdir = /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.6/i386-openbsd2.8
hdrdir = /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.6/i386-openbsd2.8
VPATH = $(srcdir)

CC = gcc

CFLAGS   = -fPIC -g -O2 -fPIC -I/usr/local/pgsql/include
CPPFLAGS = -I$(hdrdir) -I/usr/local/include -DHAVE_SYS_UN_H -DHAVE_SOCKET -DHAVE
_GETHOSTNAME
CXXFLAGS = $(CFLAGS)
DLDFLAGS =  -L$(topdir) -L/usr/local/lib -L/usr/local/pgsql/lib
            ^^^^^^^^^^^
          Why is this here?

Why should C extensions need shared libraries from the ruby library
directory?  If I build this extension with 

	-L/usr/local/lib/ruby/1.6/i386-openbsd2.8

in DLDFLAGS, the interpreter will dump core when I try to use it.  If I
remove that field from DLDFLAGS and build it, everything works fine.

This mailing list's archive shows someone complained of a similar problem
with Ruby and an earlier version of OpenBSD, without any resolution as
far as I could tell.  There aren't any other similar reports concerning 
other operating systems in the archive, so I guess it's just an OpenBSD
thing.

Whether the Ruby developers want to fix this problem. or even feel that
it is a problem, ...

David S.
dgjs@acm.org