I have two gcc compilers installed on my system, one is gcc 4.1.2 (default) and the other is gcc 4.4.4. How can I check the libc version used by gcc 4.4.4, because /lib/libc.so.6 shows the glibc used by gcc 4.1.2, since it is the default compiler.
53
votes
If you want to perform the check at compile time, then Zwol's answer below is probably the best method. If you want to check the version at runtime, then R1tschY's answer is probably the best method. Note that you may not get the Glibc version or standard C++ library version you expect at runtime due to Linux's inability to get the paths right on its own. Also see Linking g++ 4.8 to libstdc++
– jww
8 Answers
46
votes
Write a test program (name it for example glibc-version.c):
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <gnu/libc-version.h>
int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
printf("GNU libc version: %s\n", gnu_get_libc_version());
exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}
and compile it with the gcc-4.4 compiler:
gcc-4.4 glibc-version.c -o glibc-version
When you execute ./glibc-version the used glibc version is shown.
37
votes
even easier
use ldd --version
This should return the glibc version being used i.e.
$ ldd --version
ldd (GNU libc) 2.17
Copyright (C) 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
...
which is the same result as running my libc library
$ /lib/libc.so.6
GNU C Library (GNU libc) stable release version 2.17, by Roland McGrath et al.
Copyright (C) 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.
...
33
votes
Use -print-file-name gcc option:
$ gcc -print-file-name=libc.so
/usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-redhat-linux/4.5.1/../../../../lib64/libc.so
That gives the path. Now:
$ file /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-redhat-linux/4.5.1/../../../../lib64/libc.so
/usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-redhat-linux/4.5.1/../../../../lib64/libc.so: ASCII C program text
$ cat /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-redhat-linux/4.5.1/../../../../lib64/libc.so
/* GNU ld script
Use the shared library, but some functions are only in
the static library, so try that secondarily. */
OUTPUT_FORMAT(elf64-x86-64)
GROUP ( /lib64/libc.so.6 /usr/lib64/libc_nonshared.a AS_NEEDED ( /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 ) )
Looks like a linker script. libc is special on Linux in that it can be executed:
$ /lib64/libc.so.6
GNU C Library stable release version 2.13, by Roland McGrath et al.
Copyright (C) 2011 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.
There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Compiled by GNU CC version 4.5.1 20100924 (Red Hat 4.5.1-4).
Compiled on a Linux 2.6.35 system on 2011-08-05.
Available extensions:
Support for some architectures added on, not maintained in glibc core.
The C stubs add-on version 2.1.2.
crypt add-on version 2.1 by Michael Glad and others
GNU Libidn by Simon Josefsson
Native POSIX Threads Library by Ulrich Drepper et al
BIND-8.2.3-T5B
RT using linux kernel aio
libc ABIs: UNIQUE IFUNC
For bug reporting instructions, please see:
<http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/bugs.html>.
22
votes
gnu_get_libc_version identifies the runtime version of the GNU C Library.
If what you care about is the compile-time version (that is, the version that provided the headers in /usr/include), you should look at the macros __GLIBC__ and __GLIBC_MINOR__. These expand to positive integers, and will be defined as a side-effect of including any header file provided by the GNU C Library; this means you can include a standard header, and then use #ifdef __GLIBC__ to decide whether you can include a nonstandard header like gnu/libc-version.h.
Expanding the test program from the accepted answer:
#include <stdio.h>
#ifdef __GLIBC__
#include <gnu/libc-version.h>
#endif
int
main(void)
{
#ifdef __GLIBC__
printf("GNU libc compile-time version: %u.%u\n", __GLIBC__, __GLIBC_MINOR__);
printf("GNU libc runtime version: %s\n", gnu_get_libc_version());
return 0;
#else
puts("Not the GNU C Library");
return 1;
#endif
}
When I compile and run this program on the computer I'm typing this answer on (which is a Mac) it prints
Not the GNU C Library
but when compiled and run on a nearby Linux box it prints
GNU libc compile-time version: 2.24
GNU libc runtime version: 2.24
Under normal circumstances, the "runtime" version could be bigger than the "compile-time" version, but never smaller. The major version number is unlikely ever to change again (the last time it changed was the "libc6 transition" in 1997).
If you would prefer a shell 'one-liner' to dump these macros, use:
echo '#include <errno.h>' | gcc -xc - -E -dM |
grep -E '^#define __GLIBC(|_MINOR)__ ' | sort
The grep pattern is chosen to match only the two macros that are relevant, because there are dozens of internal macros named __GLIBC_somethingorother that you don't want to have to read through.
9
votes
6
votes
The easiest way is to use ldd which comes with glibc
Just run this command ldd --version :
dina@dina-X450LA:~$ ldd --version
ldd (Ubuntu GLIBC 2.23-0ubuntu9) 2.23
Copyright (C) 2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Written by Roland McGrath and Ulrich Drepper.
Their is two additional ways to find out the glibc version:
Check the version of the installed glibc rpm package : this by runing this command
rpm -q glibcCheck the version of the used libc.so file. This way is a little bit more difficult. You can check it in this link: Linux: Check the glibc version
1
votes
