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# Compatibility
vlibc offers five compatibility profiles, selected at configure time. They are
mutually exclusive; the default is `vlibc`.
| Level | Flag | Profile | What it provides |
|-------|----------------------|-------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 | `--enable-onlyposix` | `onlyposix` | Pure POSIX, nothing more — the lightest possible build. |
| 2 | `--enable-muslmimic` | `muslmimic` | musl-like, still light, with musl-compatible features. |
| 3 | `--enable-muslext` | `muslext` | An extension of musl, adding more. |
| 4 | `--enable-spoof` | `spoof` | A glibc replica: emulates glibc for drop-in compatibility, higher than `muslext` or `vlibc` full. |
| 5 | *(default)* | `vlibc` | glibc-extended: glibc minus its baggage, plus extended standard features. High (but not spoof-level) glibc compatibility. |
## Profile mechanism
The profiles map onto a single integer level, `VLIBC_LEVEL`. Levels are
**cumulative**: a profile at level N exposes everything whose minimum level is
`<= N`.
| Level | Classification |
|-------|-----------------------------------------|
| 1 | ISO C + POSIX base |
| 2 | + BSD / XSI extensions |
| 3 | + GNU extensions |
Public headers gate declarations with `#if VLIBC_LEVEL >= N`; a function whose
minimum level is 2 is only declared when the active profile is level 2 or
higher. The build applies the same rule to sources via
`AM_CONDITIONAL([PROFILE_GE_2])` and `AM_CONDITIONAL([PROFILE_GE_3])`, so each
level's implementation files are only compiled when the selected profile
reaches that level.
The generated installed header `include/vlibc/features.h` exposes the macros
the gating is based on:
- `VLIBC_LEVEL` — the active profile's integer level.
- `VLIBC_PROFILE` — the selected profile name.
- `VLIBC_LEVEL_GE(n)` — expands to 1 when `VLIBC_LEVEL >= n`, 0 otherwise.
### Slice manifest
The initial implementation covers eight string/memory functions, classified as
follows:
| Function | Level | Origin |
|--------------|-------|---------|
| `memcpy` | L1 | ISO C |
| `memmove` | L1 | ISO C |
| `memset` | L1 | ISO C |
| `strlen` | L1 | ISO C |
| `strcmp` | L1 | ISO C |
| `strlcpy` | L2 | BSD |
| `strlcat` | L2 | BSD |
| `strcasestr` | L3 | GNU |
Profiles 4 and 5 (`spoof`, `vlibc`) build on the same level mechanism but are
not implemented in this increment beyond their configure declarations.
## Differences from glibc
- **No legacy baggage.** vlibc targets modern, standard-conforming behavior and
drops glibc's deprecated and non-standard behaviors unless a profile
explicitly restores them.
- **Extended standard features.** The `vlibc` profile adds extensions on top of
the C and POSIX standards that glibc does not provide.
- **Spoofing is opt-in.** The `--enable-spoof` profile re-enables the
long-standing legacy behaviors that scripts rely on, for drop-in
compatibility with existing binaries and build systems.
## Full static linking
Every profile except `spoof` must be able to link fully statically. The
`spoof` profile is exempt: its glibc-emulation layer depends on dynamic
facilities (e.g. `dlopen`-based compatibility shims) that a static build cannot
provide.