Todd Vierling tv@pobox.com writes:
No, it implies that a built binary requires a kernel at least as new as the .h files used when building. This is NetBSD (and SysV and ...) standard practice, and is the foundation of how autoconf tests work.
The common practice of Linux users shuffling back and forth on kernel versions is a glaring exception to this common-sense rule. 8-)
It's not really a question of shuffling back and forth, it's that different users have different kernels; so if you want to ship a binary that works for everybody, with your method you have to stick to the lowest common denominator. With run-time checks you can have a binary that takes advantage of new kernel features, while still running everywhere. Obviously it's a bit more complex to implement, so you only want to do that where there's a real gain in using the new features; still I think the concept applies for all platforms.