[Mingw-users] problem with inline C++ member functions in DLLs

[Andrew B. <ab...@ee...>]

I've built a DLL with a C++ class that defined an inline function, like
so:

class DLLDECL Foo {

...

public:=20
	int hello();
}

inline Foo::hello() {
	return 6;
}

DLLDECL is __declspec(dllimport) or __declspec(dllexport) as
appropriate.


I compiled this into its .o, ar'd it into a .a, and then used Paul's
a2dll utility (extremely handy, thanks!) to turn it into a DLL.

Then, I create another file (george.cc) that #include's this class,
along with the inline function definition. I compile and link that, but
when I used a2dll to try to turn that into a DLL, I get a multiple
definition error: hello() is defined twice, once in the import library
for the DLL that a2dll created, and once in the george.cc file.=20

Looking in the import library for my first DLL, I see three definitions
re: hello:

I __imp___hello__C3Foo...
I __nm__hello__C3Foo...
T _hello__C3Foo...

This last definition is the problem I think. Should this really be in
the import library? I think that this definition causes the a2dll'ing of
george.cc to fail, since I'm sure that its .o contains the inline'd
definition of hello() as well.

Is this a GCC bug (i'm using gcc 2.95.2-3 from the mingw.org web page)
where inline functions that are inlined after the class definition are
marked to be included in the import library, when they really shouldn't?

Thanks,

Andrew