[Openexr-devel] .la and link to basename .so

[Charles Flèche]

Hi,

As the ./configure script doesn't allow me to build IlmBase and OpenEXR 
on the latest Ubuntu, I'm taking a look at improving the current CMake 
files. Here are a couple of questions about the build :

1. the build process yields a few .la files : libHalf.la, libIex.la, 
etc... My understanding is that these .la files are legacy files from 
libtool to help linking, but this mechanism should be replaced by proper 
package-config .pc files. As OpenEXR already build valid .pc files, are 
these .la files still useful ?

https://blog.flameeyes.eu/2008/04/what-about-those-la-files

2. taking libIex :
  libIex-2_0.so.10 -> libIex-2_0.so.10.0.1
  libIex-2_0.so.10.0.1
  libIex.a
  libIex.la
  libIex.so -> libIex-2_0.so.10.0.1

Now I get that renaming libIex.so to libIex-2_0.so is probably to avoid 
symbol collisions while linking two versions of OpenEXR from the same 
process. However, I don't understand the libIex.so -> 
libIex-2_0.so.10.0.1 symbolic link. Why renaming libIex-2_0 to libIex ? 
Is it to avoid modifying the build systems of the applications linking 
against OpenEXR ? Why not :
  libIex-2_0.so.10 -> libIex-2_0.so.10.0.1
  libIex-2_0.so.10.0.1
  libIex-2_0.a
  libIex-2_0.la
  libIex-2_0.so -> libIex-2_0.so.10.0.1

I probably miss something, there...

Many thanks,

Charles