Eglibc 2.19 was the last release of eglibc. Future releases will use glibc instead as the default C library. Glibc has improved support for embedded systems so eglibc is no longer needed. Linaro will transition their toolchains to glibc starting with glibc 2.19 in their July 2014 release. This transition to glibc shouldn't cause issues for most users.

1. Ryan Arnold, LCA14, Macau
LCA14-14-501: GLIBC & EGLIBC

2. • Eglibc 2.19 has been created (Feb, 7 2014)
• Eglibc 2.19 is the last eglibc release
[Patches] EGLIBC 2.19 set up (last release branch), EGLIBC trunk now closed
From: Joseph Myers
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 21:45:09 +0000
http://www.eglibc.org/archives/patches/msg01327.html
• Glibc is the future!
Eglibc is being retired

3. • glibc release cycle is 6 months +/- 2 months.
• glibc 2.19 released on Feb 7, 2014.
• glibc 2.20 Sept, or Oct.
How long do we have?

4. • ‘E’ stands for Embedded
• Created in 2006
• For embedded software/hardware providers.
• Reduced library size.
• Improved cross compilation and cross debugging.
• Glibc did not accept embedded changes.
History of Eglibc

5. • Past flash memory constraints & RAM constraints.
• Ubuntu on ARM - early consumer of Linaro’s
toolchain.
Why is Linaro using Eglibc?
Debian:
eglibc
Ubuntu:
eglibc
Linaro:
eglibc

6. • Glibc community leadership sea change.
• Embedded is no longer a dirty word in glibc.
• The Eglibc maintainer principle glibc maintainer.
• Cross building features glibc.
• ARM hardware has increased capacity in cycles, RAM,
and Flash Memory.
Why is Eglibc no longer needed?

7. • No, eglibc has always been glibc.
• But, your applications might get a bit bigger.
Is this scary?

8. • Option group users will have larger libraries.
• Option group users will have larger static binaries..
Is there risk?

9. • Glibc, the parent project.
• Newlib or uClibc
What’s the Alternative?

10. • System glibc version Linaro toolchain glibc version.
• Mentor/CodeSourcery will be moving to glibc.
• Canonical will be moving to glibc for Ubuntu.
It’s not just us

11. • Linaro GCC 4.9 toolchain (July 2014)
• Track current stable glibc release starting with glibc 2.19.
• Linaro GCC 4.8 toolchain (July 2014)
• Freeze on eglibc 2.19 and accept critical backports.
• Linaro GCC 4.7 toolchain (July 2014)
• no release - leave support frozen on eglibc 2.19.
What’s Linaro’s release plan with eglibc?

12. • Linaro will start to maintain an upstream glibc branch:
• linaro/X.Y/master
Linaro Upstream Glibc Branch

13. • Option Group Support
• Cross-localedef
• Some features not relevant to ARM.
What’s being left behind?

14. • Get a formalized request.
• Propose configure flags for selective removal to glibc
community.
• Is glibc the right c-library for your application?
But We Use That!

15. • Aarch64 Stack Smashing Protector
• Malloc Benchmarking Integrated in glibc.
• Malloc replacement?
• Testsuite Improvement.
• ports/ promotion into main repository.
Looking Forward: Glibc 2.20

16. • eglibc 2.19 is the last eglibc release.
• Glibc is the replacement.
• This isn’t scary.
• First Linaro toolchain with glibc 2.19 in July.
Questions?
Conclusion

17. More about Linaro Connect: http://connect.linaro.org
More about Linaro: http://www.linaro.org/about/
More about Linaro engineering: http://www.linaro.org/engineering/
Linaro members: www.linaro.org/members