Re: Fiasco and linux22 -- RMGR: overlapping modules problem

[k Macy]

I can only answer your questions with respect to a
normal UNIX application. I'm not sure they apply here
where resources get resolved in terms of physical
memory (and hence absolute offsets). I hope someone
from the L4 group can tell you what the "right thing"
is.

> When a normal program is linked, is it linked with
> absolute addresses as
> well? 
Yes. Every program (on a UNIX style system) has the
entire address space to itself. At compile time
functions get positions within an object file, when
the program is linked, those offsets get resolved
relative to everything else in the executable. Those
all then get put in the text portion of the address
space. Shared libraries get compiled as position
independent code (relative offsets) so that the loader
can choose where to put them in a program's address
space.

And when it is loaded, it is relocated to the
> right address? 
Any physical address is the "right address", all
programs start from virtual address 0.

Is
> the virtual memory mechanism of making each program
> think it has all the
> memory to itself what allows this, rather than
> having to have programs
> linked in such a way that they could be loaded and
> run from whereever
> the program loader wants them to be?

Basically. Programs would obviously all have to be
position independent in a single address space
operating system e.g. Mungi or Opal or when running on
hardware that doesn't have a proper MMU e.g. uC-Linux.



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