[petsc-dev] RegisterAllCalled visibility

Hi all, I'm trying to learn about PETSc's dynamic library framework. I've noticed that XXXInitializePackage() routines are idempotent, but XXXRegisterAll() routines are not, and usually have a visible XXXRegisterAllCalled boolean to guard against multiple calls (but not always). Then there are comments that say "In general, if there is more than one DLL then XXXRegisterAll() may be called several times." I don't understand the different handling between initialization and registration, especially because the initialization routines generally call the registration routines. Any help? Thanks, Toby