[willsher]

Which version of X library can be introspected via which binary is linked, rather than which package is installed - inspecting the actuality rather that an meta-data wrapper in the form of a package may be preferable.

As for static vs dynamic binaries, is dynamic less memory intensive even in containers - that is, do library version get shared across containers in RAM or are they separate? If not separate, static may be much easier to manage in general, though there maybe cases where they can't be provided. Upgrading the app involves a recompile, but that's a container building exercise. Versioning can then become tied explicitly to the container version, or by inspecting the static binary.