  distribution of objects or shareables? 
 The Question is:
 
Hello!
 
We supply updates in the form of object files
to our customers. On the customer system then
the complete COBOL application is relinked.
 
Is it better to link with COBRTL*.EXE or
COBRTL*.OLB ?
 
May we deliver COBRTL freely ?
 
What happens if compiler and COBRTL differ
in version numbers ?
 
Thanks.
 
 
 The Answer is:
 
  Permission (or lack thereof) to deliver shareable image versions
  of run-time libraries (RTLs) for various languages would be found
  in the Software Product Description (SPD) for those languages.
 
  Even in cases where a particular action is legal -- as described in
  the SPD(s), you will be best off to not deliver for a configuration
  that you have not tested.  Thus even with just your own code involved,
  your Product Definition File used with PCSI should specify compatibility
  requirements for other products, limiting installation to only those
  combinations you have tested.
 
  Even if permission is granted, the possibility of a mismatch between the
  OpenVMS version your customer is running and the shareable image version
  you deliver must be considered.
 
  The Wizard generally prefers to distribute shareable images whenever
  possible -- the shareable images must generally be linked and tested
  against the oldest supported OpenVMS version for your product.  (See
  the OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for a pointer to a
  shareable image cookbook.)
 
  Somewhat more problematic is the distribution of objects or object
  libraries, and linking the application on the target system.  While
  this initially might appear a good solution, it should be realized that
  this makes debugging the inevitable installation and run-time problems
  far more interesting, as the maps are not directly available.  It also
  becomes far interesting because the site-specific system environment can
  dramatically effect how the linker operates and on the contents of the
  images generated.  If you choose this approach, you will want to have
  a linking procedure separate from the installation procedure, and you
  will want to avoid tightly integrating the link into a VMSINSTAL
  KITINSTAL procedure -- PCSI generally discourages this sort of on-site
  file creation operation, as PCSI cannot easily track the resulting disk
  files for later removal.
 
