converting to largefile

The conversion of existing code to become largefile resistant is not a quick task despite some documents telling you otherwise. If you want to write portable code then you have to get away with different sizes of a seek-pointer plus the shapeshifter problems of systems using 64on32.

However, the conversion into the largefile world is not tricky atleast if you know the steps and the dark corners to watch out for. This site will tell you about it, trying to let you turn over into a modern world and rather smoothly. If you find software that is still not largefile resistant then please tell their maintainers and at best point them to this site.

• Step 1:   add portability using only off_t to store seek values
• Step 2:   use largefile mode as the default compile mode
• Step 3:   in libraries check all possible exports of seek values
• Step 4:   needing binary-compatibility check out dualmode support
• Step 5:   or much easier than that, do compile twice as twinlibs
• Step 6:   and check out ways to defend against improper usage