Linking programs in a single address space
Authors
School of Computer Science and Engineering
University of New South Wales,
Sydney 2052, Australia
Abstract
Linking and loading are the final steps in preparing a program for execution. This paper assesses issues concerning dynamic and static linking in traditional as well as single-address-space operating systems (SASOS). Related loading issues are also addressed. We present the dynamic linking model implemented in the Mungi SASOS and discuss its strengths and limitations. Benchmarking shows that dynamic linking in a SASOS carries significantly less overhead than dynamic linking in SGI's Irix operating system. The same performance advantages could be achieved in Unix systems, if they reserved a portion of the address space for dynamically linked libraries, and ensured that each library is always mapped at the same address.
BibTeX Entry
@inproceedings{Deller_Heiser_99,
title = {Linking Programs in a Single Address Space},
booktitle = { 1999 USENIX},
author = {Luke Deller and Gernot Heiser},
year = {1999},
month = {Jun},
address = {Monterey, Ca, USA},
pages = {283--294}
}