[LLVMdev] Using the unused "version" field in the bitcode wrapper (redux)

[Robinson, Paul]

> From: llvmdev-bounces at cs.uiuc.edu [mailto:llvmdev-bounces at cs.uiuc.edu] On Behalf Of Sean Silva
>
> You haven't established that you really need this. AFAIK Apple's linker 
> doesn't need this version information and they have shipped LTO for a 
> while now.

Does Apple support library/middleware providers shipping bitcode instead
of object code?  That's the most nervous-making scenario for compatibility.
LTO by itself needs bitcode only as an ephemeral stage between source and
object; it's supporting bitcode as a long-lived on-disk format that keeps
us awake at night.

I acknowledge the compatibility promise but I've been whacked upside the
head too often by QA over the years to take an unverified promise at
face value.  I would like worked examples and industry experience reports.
--paulr