I am currently writing a library and am considering moving from GCC 4.1.2 to 4.5.2 (latest release) of GCC. If I compile my code into a static library can I assume compiler compatibility (on the same OS obviously) should be a non-issue for clients?
EDIT To further clarify: if I provide a client a statically linked library compiled with gcc 4.5.2, what restrictions does this place on users of this library in terms of the compiler and version they must use?
Just came across this which I believe answers my question from http://gcc.gnu.org/bugs/#nonbugs:
ABI changes The C++ application binary interface (ABI) consists of two components: the first defines how the elements of classes are laid out, how functions are called, how function names are mangled, etc; the second part deals with the internals of the objects in libstdc++. Although we strive for a non-changing ABI, so far we have had to modify it with each major release. If you change your compiler to a different major release you must recompile all libraries that contain C++ code. If you fail to do so you risk getting linker errors or malfunctioning programs. Some of our Java support libraries also contain C++ code, so you might want to recompile all libraries to be safe. It should not be necessary to recompile if you have changed to a bug-fix release of the same version of the compiler; bug-fix releases are careful to avoid ABI changes. See also the compatibility section of the GCC manual.
Remark: A major release is designated by a change to the first or second component of the two- or three-part version number. A minor (bug-fix) release is designated by a change to the third component only. Thus GCC 3.2 and 3.3 are major releases, while 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 are bug-fix releases for GCC 3.3. With the 3.4 series we are introducing a new naming scheme; the first release of this series is 3.4.0 instead of just 3.4.
From this as I understand it I'll need to ensure clients are linking my library in with a major-release compatable version of gcc.