Follow-up after investigating the source (cairo-dock 3.5.1-2.1), tracing
the root cause to a specific, well-understood category of Linux linking
issue.
Summary of findings:
- cairo_dock_show_items_gui is defined in src/cairo-dock-gui-backend.c,
correctly compiled (confirmed via `nm` on the object file - it's a
proper global text symbol), and listed in the "cairo-dock" executable
target's sources in src/CMakeLists.txt - NOT in the ${core_lib_SRCS}
list that builds libgldi.so.
- The Help plugin (Help/src/applet-notifications.c, a separately loaded
.so) calls this function directly at line 59, expecting to resolve it
dynamically from the running process.
- Confirmed via a clean rebuild from the exact source package
(3.5.1-2.1, snapshot.debian.org) in an isolated container that the
symbol is genuinely absent from BOTH the compiled libgldi.so AND the
"cairo-dock" executable's dynamic symbol table (checked with
`nm -D`), even though it's present and correctly linked at the object
level. This rules out a Debian-buildd-specific miscompilation - it
reproduces identically from clean upstream source.
- Root cause: without -rdynamic (CMake: ENABLE_EXPORTS ON, or
target_link_options(... -rdynamic)) on the cairo-dock executable
target, dlopen()'d plugins cannot resolve even public symbols defined
in the main executable. This is a standard Linux dynamic-linking
behavior, not a bug in glibc/ld or in this specific function.
[VERIFIED FIX LINE - only if we test it:]
Verified that adding -rdynamic to the cairo-dock executable's link
flags resolves this: the symbol becomes visible via `nm -D` after
rebuild, and the Help plugin loads without the undefined symbol error.
[UNVERIFIED FIX LINE - if we don't test it first:]
Proposed fix (not yet tested by me, but a standard remedy for this
exact linking pattern): add -rdynamic to the cairo-dock executable's
link flags, either via ENABLE_EXPORTS ON as a CMake target property,
or explicitly via target_link_options(cairo-dock PRIVATE -rdynamic)
in src/CMakeLists.txt.
Happy to test a patch, submit one myself, or provide anything else
useful - this looks like a small, well-contained fix once someone
with upload rights can confirm the approach.
On Mon, Jul 6, 2026 at 4:29 AM Debian Bug Tracking System <
[email protected]> wrote:
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> 1141555: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1141555
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