install_only builds should be stripped?

[bulletmark]

The 3.12.3 x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu install_only build is 251 MB. Stripped using strip -p --strip-unneeded it is 81 MB. As discussed here and in issue #275, there is an argument that the normal builds should preserve debug and other symbols but surely the install_only builds should be stripped?

[charliermarsh]

Personally, I think this makes sense, but am curious to get opinions from others. Alternatively, we could ship both stripped and unstripped install_only builds (but avoid shipping stripped builds for all variants).

[indygreg]

As someone who commonly attaches a debugger to random software, it is exceptionally frustrating when you can't load debug symbols for binaries. This significantly inhibits debugging. Especially on PGO+LTO optimized binaries.

As a matter of principle I feel that anyone shipping non closed source software has an obligation to make debug symbols available.

It is not viable for us to run a symbol server for this project (maybe one day GitHub will provide that service: one can only wish). That leaves shipping the symbols as release assets. I prefer having them embedded in binaries. But detached symbols could also work.

I really don't want to ship a symbols/no-symbols variant of each distribution: we have too many release artifacts as it stands.

Perhaps a compromise position is to ship symbols/no-symbols variants for just the install_only archives. We keep symbols on install_only for backwards compatibility and introduce a new variant - say install_only_stripped - that lacks debug symbols.

[charliermarsh]

Perhaps a compromise position is to ship symbols/no-symbols variants for just the install_only archives. We keep symbols on install_only for backwards compatibility and introduce a new variant - say install_only_stripped - that lacks debug symbols.

Yeah, that's where I was leaning too -- roughly what I was trying to say with the second sentence of my previous comment. It seems like a good compromise to me and I'd be happy to own it.

[charliermarsh]

I'll give this a try.