Question

I am currently writing a library and am considering moving from GCC 4.1.2 to 4.5.2 (latest release) of GCC. If I compile my code into a static library can I assume compiler compatibility (on the same OS obviously) should be a non-issue for clients?

EDIT
To further clarify: if I provide a client a statically linked library compiled with gcc 4.5.2, what restrictions does this place on users of this library in terms of the compiler and version they must use?

Answer 1

Just came across this which I believe answers my question from http://gcc.gnu.org/bugs/#nonbugs:

ABI changes The C++ application binary
interface (ABI) consists of two
components: the first defines how the
elements of classes are laid out, how
functions are called, how function
names are mangled, etc; the second
part deals with the internals of the
objects in libstdc++. Although we
strive for a non-changing ABI, so far
we have had to modify it with each
major release. If you change your
compiler to a different major release
you must recompile all libraries that
contain C++ code. If you fail to do so
you risk getting linker errors or
malfunctioning programs. Some of our
Java support libraries also contain
C++ code, so you might want to
recompile all libraries to be safe. It
should not be necessary to recompile
if you have changed to a bug-fix
release of the same version of the
compiler; bug-fix releases are careful
to avoid ABI changes. See also the
compatibility section of the GCC
manual.

Remark: A major release is designated
by a change to the first or second
component of the two- or three-part
version number. A minor (bug-fix)
release is designated by a change to
the third component only. Thus GCC 3.2
and 3.3 are major releases, while
3.3.1 and 3.3.2 are bug-fix releases for GCC 3.3. With the 3.4 series we
are introducing a new naming scheme;
the first release of this series is
3.4.0 instead of just 3.4.

From this as I understand it I’ll need to ensure clients are linking my library in with a major-release compatable version of gcc.