Add --disable-major-minor-libraries configure optionfw/no-symlinks

This option can be used to increase compatibility with package managers.
The name was choosen to avoid confusion with all the different versions
(glibc release, soname versions, symbol versions).

This patch makes all uses of -$(version).so conditional on the new
$(major-minor-libraries) flag.  The alternative install targets write
the implementation DSOs directly to the locations determined by their
sonames, skipping the creation of an intermediate symbolic link.

install-symbolic-link in Makerules is updated not to require the
$(symbolic-link-list) file because it may not exist in
--disable-major-minor-libraries mode.

I verified that by default, the install tree is the same as before
on x86_64-linux-gnu except for the changes in the manual.

1 files changed, 9 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/manual/install.texi b/manual/install.texi
index b2d569ac5a..d98f026f4a 100644
--- a/manual/install.texi
+++ b/manual/install.texi
@@ -209,6 +209,15 @@ provides additional security hardening because it enables full RELRO
 and a read-only global offset table (GOT), at the cost of slightly
 increased program load times.
 
+@item --disable-major-minor-libraries
+Do not install shared objects under file names that contain the major
+and minor version of @theglibc.  By default, such names are used, and
+the names defined by the ABI are provided as symbolic links only.  This
+causes problems with certain package managers during library upgrades
+and (in particular) downgrades, so this option can be used to install
+these shared objects directly under their ABI-defined names, without an
+additional indirection via symbolic links.
+
 @pindex pt_chown
 @findex grantpt
 @item --enable-pt_chown