https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=60939
--- Comment #7 from David Edelsohn <dje at gcc dot gnu.org> --- I had not noticed the lack of a reference to any symbol in the file, so missing the static constructor. -bexpfull probably would work around that problem but likely cause another. It's a tension between two different use cases and a fundamental problem with collect2 and AIX. If collect2 utilizes -bexpfull for the first pass and all symbols are exported, then every object file and every member of an archive will be referenced, and every constructor will be run. But what if the archive contains otherwise unneeded object files and constructors? With the proposed change, the resulting binary or shared object will, at best, only be bloated with unnecessary symbols and functions, and, at worst, run unnecessary or damaging constructors. It essentially is enabling the equivalent of --whole-archive for every link. There have been other bug reports about this and collect2 explicitly tries to strike a balance. I think this bug report really requires the user to explicitly reference the file containing the constructor or manually use the equivalent of --whole-archive.
