gmodulesymbol

gmodulesymbol is a term used in the context of dynamic loading within GLib’s GModule framework. It refers to a symbol exported by a shared library that has been loaded at runtime. A gmodulesymbol can represent a function or a data object that the host program wishes to use from the module. The symbol is resolved by the runtime loader when requested via the GModule API and accessed through a generic pointer that must be cast to the appropriate type by the caller.

In GLib, modules are opened with g_module_open, and a symbol is retrieved by g_module_symbol. The function returns the symbol as a gpointer (a generic pointer), which the caller then casts to the expected function or data pointer. Because the symbol resides in the loaded module, its availability is tied to the module’s lifetime; the module must remain loaded for as long as the symbol is in use.

Common use cases for gmodulesymbols arise in plugin architectures, where a host application loads plugins at runtime and looks up entry points such as initialization or factory functions. To avoid symbol collisions and ensure consistent binding across platforms, names may be kept unique or bound with language-specific conventions (for example, C linkage in mixed C/C++ code).

Limitations of using gmodulesymbol include platform-dependent aspects of symbol visibility and name mangling, as well as the need for robust error handling when a symbol cannot be found. Security considerations are also important when loading third-party modules, since missing or malicious symbols can affect application stability and safety.

See also: GModule, g_module_open, g_module_symbol, plugin architecture.