#240 Gnuplot won't run with current version of readline

[Henry Shackleton]

Using gnuplot 5.2.6 on Arch Linux, running the program gives the following error:

gnuplot: error while loading shared libraries: libreadline.so.7: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

The current version of readline is 8.0.0-1. Downgrading back to an older version fixes the issue, but maybe this is something that should be addressed.

EDIT: Downgrading is a bad idea, I rebooted my computer and was unable to log back in. Apparently readline 8.0.0 is required for other things.

[Ethan Merritt]

This really has nothing to do with us ("us" being upstream gnuplot development). If the gnuplot executable provided by your distribution was built with a different library from the one the distribution actually provides, that's something only they can fix.

Note, however, that you don't need to "downgrade". You only need to install the shared object file for the previous library version. Do not remove or replace the files from the newer version. Programs will find and load whichever of the two library versions they were linked against when built. It is very possible to have multiple versions of the same library installed in parallel.

Meanwhile if you want to build gnuplot yourself starting from source it's easy enough, and will also use the libraries found on the system at the time it is built.

[Ethan Merritt]

Ticket moved from /p/gnuplot/bugs/2135/

Can't be converted:

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