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I wonder what is the percentage rate of GNU C Lib presence inside free software code. My guess is 95%.

• dfox 12y ago
  That depends on how you define "presence" and "free software code". To cite from the article: "The GNU C Library is used as the C library in the GNU systems and is widely used on systems with the Linux kernel." That means that glibc is mostly used as part of desktop/server Linux distributions and not directly by software (although there is significant amount of both free and non-free software that depends on glibc-specific extensions or behavior).
• JoshTriplett 12y ago
  If you mean the fraction of Linux systems using glibc: near-100% of non-Android systems, but Android uses its own libc. If you mean the fraction of software depending on glibc-specific features: probably less than 50%, much less if you only count software that meant to depend on glibc-specific features.
  • Figs 12y ago
    A lot of routers, set-top boxes, and other embedded systems also use alternative libcs, but I think you're right for Linux desktop and server systems -- most of those either use glibc or a fork/variant like eglibc.
    • Alupis 12y ago
      Musl-libc and uClibc are probably the most popular right now.
• kryptiskt 12y ago
  Most C code is written so it can be built with any POSIX C lib, otherwise the FreeBSD ports and Homebrew on OSX wouldn't be quite so extensive. Much is written so it can be built on Windows too, with only standard C library support.