gcc 3.3.2 (I think) installed to AIX 5.3.
GNU binutils not (initially) installed.
When linking a C++ program (using g++), lots of linker errors produced.
The exact text not available for me to cut-n-paste right now, but basic
gist is
this entrypoint in this library is not in global symbol table of
library
Resolved by finding g++ copy of libstdc++.a, and running ranlib of it.

Installing GNU binutils either before or after installing gcc did not
change anything - in any case, ranlib was required before C++ link
would work.
I tried with them on the path or not too.
There are probably other libraries needing this too, its just that my
test program didn't need them.

I've read conflicting things about whether GNU ar, nm, etc (binutils)
should be
used with gcc.

Regardless, this doesn't seem right to me.
If ranlib-ing is required, I'd expect the postinstall script to do it.
If there is a dependency on GNU binutils, I'd expect that dependency to
be expressed in the package.

Has anyone else seen this kind of thing?

I'm not sure where or how our SAs got or made the .rpm, but we think it
came from IBM.

{{{ Andy