HP Integrity NonStop H-Series - Manual (Page 59)

Glossary
TNSVU User’s Guide— 528143-003
Glossary -11
library
library. A generic term for a collection of routines useful in many programs. An object code
library can take the form of a linkfile to be physically included into client programs, it
can be an OSS archive file containing several linkable modules, it can be a loadfile, or
it can be a system-managed collection of preloaded routines. Source-code libraries fall
outside the scope of this glossary. See also
dynamic-link library (DLL) and shared run-
time library (SRL) .
library client. A program or another library that uses routines or variables from that library.
library file. See library .
library import characterization (LIC). A list of the export digests and relocation offsets of
all the libraries used to resolve symbols in a loadfile. It allows the loader and operating
system to determine when a file is being loaded in an environment equivalent to that
found by the linker or to a previous load. (See
fault domain .) A LIC is generated and
stored in the loadfile by the linker when a file is preset; it can be used in a subsequent
load step to determine whether the loadfile’s existing bindings can be reused. The
operating system can also retain the bindings as modified when a loadfile is loaded
and associate a LIC with those cached bindings, so that they can be reused when the
same file is again loaded in an equivalent environment.
LIC. See library import characterization (LIC) .
linker. (1) The process or server that invokes the message system to deliver a message to
some other process or server. (2) A programming utility, which combines one or more
compilation units’ linkfiles to create an executable loadfile for a native program or
library.
linkfile. (1) For native C/C++ compilers in the Guardian environment, a command file for
input to the eld , ld , or nld utility. (2) A file containing object code that is not yet ready
to load and execute. Linkfiles are combined by means of a linker to make an
executable loadfile for a program or library. Compiling creates one linkfile per
independent source module. Contrast with
loadfile .
linking. The operation of collecting, connecting, and relocating code and data blocks from
one or more separately compiled object files to produce a target object file.
load. (1) To transfer the HP NonStop™ operating system image or a program from disk into
a computer’s memory so that the operating system or program can run. (2) To insert a
tape into a tape drive, which prepares it for a tape operation (read or write).
loadable library. A loadfile that offers functions and data to other loadfiles. In this manual,
dynamic-link libraries and hybrid shared run-time libraries are libraries. A library cannot
normally be invoked externally; for example, by a RUN command. Instead, it is invoked
by calls or data references from client loadfiles.
loader. A programming utility that transfers a program into memory so it can run. The
mechanism that brings loadfiles into memory for execution, maps them into virtual
address space, and resolves symbol references among them. Synonyms include