Linking static applications with Statifier and Ermine
Adhesion Bonding

© Carsten Reisinger, 123RF
The PIM application you copy to a USB stick might refuse to run on a borrowed machine if it has problems with a library. Statifier and Ermine set up your apps for any distribution.
Users regularly need just a fraction of the functionality provided by larger applications, such as word processors, for their daily work. To avoid inactive program components unnecessarily hogging RAM – and OpenOffice has over 200MB of this stuff – developers tend to offload them into special files. In Linux, these dynamic libraries are identifiable by their .so suffix. When a user triggers a specific action, the program locates the matching library, loads it into RAM, and runs the requested function. This strategy keeps the applications lean, and to update, you simply install a newer version of the library.
A modular approach like this offers another advantage: Programs can share libraries. An application that gives users a graphical interface can either draw the menus, buttons, and lists itself, or it can rely instead on the Gtk+ or Qt libraries installed in any major distribution. Relying on libraries is very popular because it saves both programming and memory resources.
The drawback to the modular approach becomes obvious when you want to install a new version of the program. First you need to resolve the dependencies on various libraries. This can be very trying for fans of multimedia applications: The software typically relies on numerous libraries, some of which can be fairly exotic – if you have ever tried to install the Kdenlive video editing program, you will know what I mean. As Listing 1 shows, even simple system tools like ls rely on multiple libraries. Fortunately, the package manager typically resolves dependencies quickly and reliably.
[...]
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.