Libtool

GNU libtool is a powerful library support script that can simplify the process of building shared and static libraries. With its consistent, portable interface, developers can write custom support code for each platform on which their package runs without the need to design a separate configuration interface.

One of the best features of libtool is its ability to support building static libraries on all platforms. In the past, developers needed to invest their time in writing custom support code for each platform to fully take advantage of shared libraries. But with GNU Libtool, developers can encapsulate platform-specific dependencies, and the user interface into a single script.

The consistent interface of GNU Libtool is reassuring for users who do not want to read obscure documentation to have their favorite source package build shared libraries. All they need to do is run the package configure script (or equivalent) to let libtool do all the dirty work. This library support script is designed so that the complete functionality of each host type is available via a generic interface, while nasty quirks are hidden from the programmer.

There are several examples throughout the document that illustrate the same environment that we want to build a library-lhello- in a generic way. Libhello can be a shared library, a static library, or both, depending on the available resources on the host system as long as libtool has been ported to it.

This chapter explains the original design philosophy of libtool that can be extended in a consistent way, but feel free to skip to the next chapter if you are not interested in the history or do not intend to write code to extend the capabilities of GNU Libtool. Overall, this library support script can make the process of building shared and static libraries quicker and simpler.