ObjectSpace V2.1 installation status at CERN

Compiling and linking with ObjectSpace ToolKit

ObjectSpace ToolKit V2.1 is installed in AFS directory /afs/cern.ch/sw/lhcxx/specific/@sys/ObjectSpace/2.1/ToolKit. There are several flavours of the ObjectSpace libraries, depending on which compile-time options were used to create them. In general, the name of the library indicates what options were used, e.g. libospace.st.a is a single-threaded version and libospace.mt.a is multi-threaded. altstd means that the ToolKit has been compiled with compiler native STL. The full list of the libraries currently available is given below. 

The easiest way to use these libraries is to include the right configuration file into your Makefile. Configuration files can be found in $(TOOLKIT)/config directory. There is a separate file for each library type, e.g. define.st.cfg for libospace.st.a. Including the right configuration file ensures that your program is compiled with the same options as the library was. Here are some of the variables defined by each configuration file:

  TOOLKIT - ToolKit installation directory
  CC_EXEC - the compiler executable name
  CC_DEFINES - preprocessor symbols
  CC_FLAGS - additional flags for the compiler
  CC_EH - switches needed for exception handling
  CC_MT - switches needed to use multi-threading
  OLIBS - ObjectSpace library name (in the -lospace form)

Example use in a Makefile:

 include $(TOOLKIT)/define.st.cfg
 C_FLAGS = $(CC_DEFINES) $(CC_FLAGS) $(CC_EH) $(CC_MT) 
 %.o : %.cpp
        @echo compiling $*.cpp ...
        @${CC_EXEC} -c $*.cpp ${C_FLAGS} -o $*.o
 exec: $(OBJS)
        ${CC_EXEC} $(OBJS) -L{TOOLKIT}/lib $(OLIBS) -o exec
 

• Shared libraries on UNIX are not directly supported by ObjectSpace. I have created them by converting the whole static archive library into a shared object. On NT there are separate libraries for every package in ToolKit - ObjecSpace is working on similar scheme for UNIX.
  Shared libraries are picked up by linker by default. Do not forget to set load library path before starting a program linked dynamically, or use options like -rpath when linking.

Platforms and libraries

• Linux
  Libraries:
  ospace.st.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.st.cfg file)
  ospace.mt.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.mt.cfg file)
  ospace.altstd.mt.a (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.altstd.mt.cfg file)
  Shared libraries exist
  
  
• Solaris 2.51, 2.6
  Libraries (compiled with CC 4.2):
  ospace.st.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.st.cfg file)
  ospace.mt.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.mt.cfg file)
  Shared libraries exist
  
  
• Solaris 7
  Libraries: (compiled with CC 5.0):
  ospace.noCstd.mt.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.noCstd.mt.cfg file)
  This library is compiled with -library=iostream,no%Cstd options. Equivalent to compiling with CC 4.2. For compatibility with Objectivity.
  ospace.altstd.mt.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.altstd.mt.cfg file)
  This library is not compatible with current build of Objectivity (standard C++ library conflict).
  NOTE: Shared libraries are now provided separately for each ToolKit module
  
  
• DigitalUnix
  Libraries:
  ospace.st.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.st.cfg file)
  ospace.mt.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.mt.cfg file)
  ospace.altstd.mt.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.altstd.mt.cfg file)
  Shared libraries exist
  
  
• HP
  Libraries:
  ospace.st.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.st.cfg file)
  ospace.mt.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.mt.cfg file)
  ospace.altstd.mt.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.altstd.mt.cfg file)
  Shared libraries exist
  
  
• AIX - problems to compile the library on all 4.x AIX versions. No shared library, the archive one is incomplete.
  Libraries:
  ospace.st.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.st.cfg file)
  ospace.mt.a - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.mt.cfg file)
  
  
• NT, MS VC++ 5.0 Service Pack 2
  ToolKit it installed on NICE, in the directory Z:\P32\lhcxx\specific\Windows_NT\2.1\ToolKit. This is the original installation from the CD with precompiled static and dynamic libraries. ObjectSpace provides example MSVC++ projects to link with them.
  Libraries:
  single-threaded - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.st.cfg file)
  multi-threaded - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.mt.cfg file)
  single-threaded, native STL - (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.altstd.st.cfg file)
  multi-threaded, native STL- (include ${TOOLKIT}/config/define.altstd.mt.cfg file)
  multi-threaded, debug
  multi-threaded, native STL, debug
  
  The libraries are compatible with MS VC++ 6.0.
  Zipped copy of the installation is available in the LHC++ export directory.
  


• NT, MS VC++ 6.0 Service Pack 2
  ToolKit it installed on NICE, in the directory Z:\P32\lhcxx\specific\Windows_NT\2.1.1\ToolKit.
  Libraries:
  as above, but the filenames do not contain compailer version any more.
  

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Known bugs and problems

• All - iterators do not have the arrow operator. This is due to Solaris C++ V4.2 compiler that can't compile them correctly. In result this operator is disabled.
  Use (*i). instead.
• All - there was a bug on Linux that crashed programs using os_list of strings. It has been fixed for Linux, please report if you experience it on other platforms

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Fixed bugs

• Linux - list<> class has a wrong type of internal node allocator. This causes crashes in some cases - e.g. a list of strings. I have written an experimantal fix to this problem - it has been accepted by ObectSpace and is now enabled.
• Linux - the library originally did not compile without NO_ALLOCATORS flag.

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Objectivity/DB and persistent STL

• The include path and library of the Objectivity ToolKit has to be before the path and library of the ObjectSpace ToolKit
• The ToolKit configuration file has to be define.mt.cfg

Local installation tips