[gst-devel] problems with -fPIC flag on PPC platforms

[Christian Meyer]

Hi!

I've been running into problems with some plugins.

ffmpeg, (x)videosink and arts doesn't load:

DEBUG(24472: 0)gstplugin.c(161): gst_plugin_load_plugin: : attempt to load
plugin "/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstffmpeg.so" DEBUG(24472:
0)gstplugin.c(161): gst_plugin_load_plugin: : attempt to load plugin
"/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstarts.so" DEBUG(24472: 0)gstplugin.c(161):
gst_plugin_load_plugin: : attempt to load plugin
"/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstvideosink.so" DEBUG(24472:
0)gstplugin.c(161): gst_plugin_load_plugin: : attempt to load plugin
"/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstxvideosink.so" DEBUG(24472:
0)gstplugin.c(161): gst_plugin_load_plugin: : attempt to load plugin
"/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstffmpeg.so" INFO (24472:
0)gstxmlregistry.c(1624): gst_xml_registry_rebuild: : Plugin
/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstffmpeg.so failed to load: Error loading
plugin /opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstffmpeg.so, reason:
/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstffmpeg.so: R_PPC_REL24 relocation at
0x0c9e428c for symbol `fpr_23_x' out of range 
Plugin /opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstffmpeg.so failed to load
DEBUG(24472: 0)gstplugin.c(161): gst_plugin_load_plugin: : attempt to load
plugin "/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstarts.so" INFO (24472:
0)gstxmlregistry.c(1624): gst_xml_registry_rebuild: : Plugin
/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstarts.so failed to load: Error loading
plugin /opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstarts.so, reason:
/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstarts.so: undefined symbol:
_ZTIN4Arts11Object_skelE 
Plugin /opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstarts.so failed to load
DEBUG(24472: 0)gstplugin.c(161): gst_plugin_load_plugin: : attempt to load
plugin "/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstvideosink.so" INFO (24472:
0)gstxmlregistry.c(1624): gst_xml_registry_rebuild: : Plugin
/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstvideosink.so failed to load: Error loading
plugin /opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstvideosink.so, reason:
/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstvideosink.so: R_PPC_REL24 relocation at
0x0caf7428 for symbol `element_add_pad' out of range 
Plugin /opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstvideosink.so failed to load
DEBUG(24472: 0)gstplugin.c(161): gst_plugin_load_plugin: : attempt to load
plugin "/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstxvideosink.so" INFO (24472:
0)gstxmlregistry.c(1624): gst_xml_registry_rebuild: : Plugin
/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstxvideosink.so failed to load: Error loading
plugin /opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstxvideosink.so, reason:
/opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstxvideosink.so: R_PPC_REL24 relocation at
0x0caf7440 for symbol `ist_delete_link' out of range 
Plugin /opt/gnome2/lib/gstreamer-0.5/libgstxvideosink.so failed to load

taaz and ds said that this problem comes from the -fPIC flag. I checked the gcc
manpage and it says:

If supported for the target machine, emit position-independent code, suitable
for dynamic linking and avoiding any limit on the           size of the global
offset table.  This option makes a difference on the m68k, m88k, and the Sparc.
Position-independent code requires special support, and therefore
works only on certain machines.

It seems like PPC is one of the platforms where this flag causes so much
trouble.
Wouldn't it be safe for now to remove the flag. Otherwise gstreamer 0.6 on PPC
would be broken when included in GNOME2.2 final.

Greetings,
Christian