Shared Library Errors With Some Applications
 

I have been getting various shared library errors with a number of applications after updating Slackware. The only way I have found to fix this is to rebuild these applications after updating. It happens consistently with Shotwell, Clementine, and Inkscape. Is this to be expected with some Slackbuild applications or is it likely I have done something wrong? Thank you.

It is expected. When most applications are compiled, they dynamically link against their dependencies. This means those dependencies reside as a file on the computer, and when the program needs that functionality, it references the file. When those dependencies are upgraded, sometimes the applications that depend on them stop working until they're recompiled to link against the new version (usually due to the dependencies ABI versions changing). It's hard to know if something will need to be recompiled just because a dependency is updated without digging into the changelog of the dependency to see what's changed. Pat usually recompiles all required official packages when dependencies are upgraded in -current, but occasionally one will slip through and can cause problems until it is recompiled (one of the "joys" of running -current).

Generally, for those running -current, they just recompile programs as needed (when they break). There's probably a few that recompile all their 3rd-party packages when updates come out, but it's a hassle and it's probably easier to just recompile things as they break.

The other option is to statically compile the dependencies in, but that causes package size to grow exponentially (each program would need to have a copy of each dependency inside it). Not many packages in Slackware are compiled statically due to the size requirements.

Thank you for the great explanation.