Unlike interpreted application programs that run within the rich runtime environment of their own interpreters, natively compiled application programs are typically thought of as executing on the barebones runtime environment provided by their own operating systems and dynamic linkers. This article presents the notion of a service‐based runtime (SBRT) environment for natively compiled application programs, in which the current dynamic linker is only a core service and other extensive middleware‐type services are available to the running application program. It then describes a dynamic‐linker‐based implementation of such an environment, called dlSBRT. dlSBRT implements a unified interface that allows it to be extensible by means of extension dynamic services. Implemented examples of such services are presented and the performance of dlSBRT, when such example services are deployed, is evaluated. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Natively compiled, binary-code application programs are typically thought of as executing on the "raw" operating system. However, they do in fact utilize a bare-bones middleware layer-the dynamic linker. This paper presents a service-based view of an expanded run-time environment in which the current dynamic linker is only a core service, and other middleware-type services are available to the application and its components (shared libraries). This paper then describes a prototype implementation of such an environment, called SBRT, or Service-Based Run-Time. SBRT also contains a unified event-based interface that allows for customized middleware services by means of an extension mechanism.