SOLVED: Emacs (all versions) dumps core when built against XFree86 4.3

[Hin-Tak Leung]

Apparently the problem is applicable to all version of emacs
(including latest CVS, back to 19.34b), on all unix/unix-like
systems for which GNU ld is the default linker, and for which GNU ld
is quite up-to-date.

Symptom:  emacs dump cores at XtInitializeWidgetClass () with
             'Fatal Error (11).Segmentational Fault'
Solution: Adding '-z nocombreloc' to LDFLAGS
Reason:   'combreloc' has become the default for recent GNU ld, which
             breaks the unexec/undump of both emacs and xemacs
             (all versions).

This information should be useful to a *lot* of people.

===========
Many after-thoughts:

(1) The problem has been very recently reported against CVS
    version of GNU emacs in March 2003 (i.e. two months ago),
    and even caught Mr Stallman's attention briefly,
    no solution is known to the GNU Emacs people; and
    yet the xemacs people apparently had the fix integrated to
    their ./configure for almost a year now...

(2) The GNU emacs people/community has not been at all helpful...
    I guessed the origin of the problem myself, made my own suggestion
    to do a gdb back trace, did my own search for any problem
    associated with 'XtInitializeWidgetClass'... the same problem
    was reported by others to the xemacs mailing lists, and the
    correct solution was suggested by more than a few patient
    individuals, according to their archive...

(3) Sadly, judging from the reaction to the same problem in both
    archives, I have to say the xemacs community probably are
    more "free" (in the beer sense) than the GNU emacs community...
    xemacs people gave sound technical advices and solutions,
    GNU emacs people gave lectures on "employer/employee relationships"...

    (For software projects for which I participate deeply, I don't
     have any problem with "ordering" people to give or obtain
     more details... this has nothing to do with employer/employee
     relationship - supplying more details just help the diagnostic
     process, and ultimately benefit the individual himself
     who supplies the details)