Concept of "Sticky" library on AIX ?

Question

We have a problem when loading a dynamic library multiple times (>200) on AIX. The page : http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IY93339 states a similar problem and the suggested solution is to "make the library sticky" to load it in memory a single time...But does the concept still exist on AIX 5.3 and above ? It does not seem to be the case when we read the wikipedia for example (sticky still exists but not in this meaning). Is there another solution ?

Answer 1

AIX 5.3L still uses the sticky bit for both directories (where it provides a little extra security for directories in which multiple users can write) and files (where it sets the save-text attribute of the file).

If this flag is set on an executable file, it's not unmapped after you've finished using it. Wikipedia doesn't mention AIX but, as you'll see from IBM's own doco, it's still used.

The relevant sections in the AIX doco on publib.boulder are here for the chmod command (look for "save-text") and that page also references here for the chmod subroutine call (look for "S_ISVTX").

By the way, if you're using any IBM product, publib (google for ibm publib) should be your first point of call. The top level for AIX5.3L is here.