diff --git a/CHANGES/v2.4.md b/CHANGES/v2.4.md
index 8d1c091150562036ccf3f3cd810bae971de7e6dc..8bb4723f726e8c4fcbe5e82a01d6d138bb22ff73 100644
--- a/CHANGES/v2.4.md
+++ b/CHANGES/v2.4.md
@@ -101,3 +101,4 @@ Fixes after alpha release:
   - \ref CUSTOM function has been added as an alias to \ref MATHEVAL .
   - (developers): `configure.ac` has been simplified and improved in order to more easily probe C++ libraries.
   - (developers): added `plumed_custom_skip` function to regtests in order to skip specific tests based on specific conditions (e.g. OS).
+  - (developers): environment variable `LDSO` has been renamed to `LDSHARED`, which is standard in the python community.
diff --git a/Makefile.conf.in b/Makefile.conf.in
index 9059e0c269af3cee4543fdb860baec7c70b0f989..d89263b98b902bec660b1de86912ef9d7f3c48d4 100644
--- a/Makefile.conf.in
+++ b/Makefile.conf.in
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ DYNAMIC_LIBS=@LIBS@ @LDFLAGS@ @OPENMP_CXXFLAGS@
 LIBS=@STATIC_LIBS@
 SOEXT=@SOEXT@
 LD=@LD@
-LDSO=@LDSO@
+LDSHARED=@LDSHARED@
 GCCDEP=@CXX@
 disable_dependency_tracking=@disable_dependency_tracking@
 prefix=@prefix@
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 971a7188e8dedef4a2c608f90c3eb9e66a6cf7bd..c6f50ba766ad79946885a99b31317a7591a8c47a 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -652,7 +652,7 @@ CPPFLAGS
 LDFLAGS
 CXXFLAGS
 CXX
-LDSO
+LDSHARED
 STATIC_LIBS
 SOEXT
 target_alias
@@ -734,7 +734,7 @@ host_alias
 target_alias
 SOEXT
 STATIC_LIBS
-LDSO
+LDSHARED
 CXX
 CXXFLAGS
 LDFLAGS
@@ -1405,7 +1405,7 @@ Some influential environment variables:
   SOEXT       extension of dynamic libraries (so/dylib)
   STATIC_LIBS variables that should be linked statically directly to MD code -
               configure will add here -ldl if necessary
-  LDSO        command for linking shared library - configure will use CXX plus
+  LDSHARED    command for linking shared library - configure will use CXX plus
               the proper flags
   CXX         C++ compiler command
   CXXFLAGS    C++ compiler flags
@@ -4279,7 +4279,7 @@ ac_compiler_gnu=$ac_cv_cxx_compiler_gnu
 
 # log the initial flags
 LD="$CXX"
-LDSO="$CXX"
+LDSHARED="$CXX"
 { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Initial CXX:         $CXX" >&5
 $as_echo "$as_me: Initial CXX:         $CXX" >&6;}
 { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Initial CXXFLAGS:    $CXXFLAGS" >&5
@@ -4296,8 +4296,8 @@ $as_echo "$as_me: Initial LIBS:        $LIBS" >&6;}
 $as_echo "$as_me: Initial STATIC_LIBS: $STATIC_LIBS" >&6;}
 { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Initial LD:          $LD" >&5
 $as_echo "$as_me: Initial LD:          $LD" >&6;}
-{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Initial LDSO:        $LDSO" >&5
-$as_echo "$as_me: Initial LDSO:        $LDSO" >&6;}
+{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Initial LDSHARED:    $LDSHARED" >&5
+$as_echo "$as_me: Initial LDSHARED:    $LDSHARED" >&6;}
 { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Initial SOEXT:       $SOEXT" >&5
 $as_echo "$as_me: Initial SOEXT:       $SOEXT" >&6;}
 
@@ -8292,10 +8292,10 @@ if test "$shared" == true ; then
 $as_echo "$as_me: *** Special settings for dynamic libraries on OSX ***" >&6;}
     { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Dynamic library extension is 'dylib'" >&5
 $as_echo "$as_me: Dynamic library extension is 'dylib'" >&6;}
-    { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: LDSO needs special flags" >&5
-$as_echo "$as_me: LDSO needs special flags" >&6;}
+    { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: LDSHARED needs special flags" >&5
+$as_echo "$as_me: LDSHARED needs special flags" >&6;}
     SOEXT=dylib
-    LDSO="$LDSO -undefined suppress -flat_namespace -dynamiclib -Wl,-headerpad_max_install_names"
+    LDSHARED="$LDSHARED -undefined suppress -flat_namespace -dynamiclib -Wl,-headerpad_max_install_names"
     if test "$rpath" = true ; then
       { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Switching off rpath on OSX" >&5
 $as_echo "$as_me: Switching off rpath on OSX" >&6;}
@@ -8307,10 +8307,10 @@ $as_echo "$as_me: Switching off rpath on OSX" >&6;}
 $as_echo "$as_me: *** Special settings for dynamic libraries on Linux ***" >&6;}
     { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Dynamic library extension is 'so'" >&5
 $as_echo "$as_me: Dynamic library extension is 'so'" >&6;}
-    { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: LDSO and LDFLAGS need special flags" >&5
-$as_echo "$as_me: LDSO and LDFLAGS need special flags" >&6;}
+    { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: LDSHARED and LDFLAGS need special flags" >&5
+$as_echo "$as_me: LDSHARED and LDFLAGS need special flags" >&6;}
     SOEXT=so
-    LDSO="$LDSO -shared"
+    LDSHARED="$LDSHARED -shared"
 
   save_LDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS"
   LDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS -rdynamic"
@@ -8347,16 +8347,16 @@ fi
 # check linking of runtime library
 if test -n "$SOEXT"
 then
-  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Using LDSO='$LDSO'" >&5
-$as_echo "$as_me: Using LDSO='$LDSO'" >&6;}
+  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Using LDSHARED='$LDSHARED'" >&5
+$as_echo "$as_me: Using LDSHARED='$LDSHARED'" >&6;}
   { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: Using LDFLAGS='$LDFLAGS'" >&5
 $as_echo "$as_me: Using LDFLAGS='$LDFLAGS'" >&6;}
-  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking whether LDSO can create dynamic libraries" >&5
-$as_echo_n "checking whether LDSO can create dynamic libraries... " >&6; }
+  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking whether LDSHARED can create dynamic libraries" >&5
+$as_echo_n "checking whether LDSHARED can create dynamic libraries... " >&6; }
   rm -f conftest.*
   echo "void f(void){ return;}" > conftest.cpp
   $CXX $CXXFLAGS $CPPFLAGS -c conftest.cpp 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
-  $LDSO $LDFLAGS conftest.o -o conftest.$SOEXT 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
+  $LDSHARED $LDFLAGS conftest.o -o conftest.$SOEXT 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
   if test -f conftest.$SOEXT
   then
     { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: yes" >&5
@@ -8409,10 +8409,10 @@ fi
 
 
     if test "$readelf" == found ; then
-      test_LDSO="$LDSO -Wl,-R -Wl,/some/random/dir/"
-      $test_LDSO $LDFLAGS conftest.o -o conftest.$SOEXT 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
+      test_LDSHARED="$LDSHARED -Wl,-R -Wl,/some/random/dir/"
+      $test_LDSHARED $LDFLAGS conftest.o -o conftest.$SOEXT 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
       if readelf -d conftest.$SOEXT | grep RPATH | grep -q /some/random/dir ; then
-        LDSO="$LDSO -Wl,-R -Wl,\"$LIBRARY_PATH\""
+        LDSHARED="$LDSHARED -Wl,-R -Wl,\"$LIBRARY_PATH\""
       else
         { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: WARNING: -R option seems not working, disabling rpath" >&5
 $as_echo "$as_me: WARNING: -R option seems not working, disabling rpath" >&2;}
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 5b580c56cf82d4ae2d4bd5198cac14758675a4ef..0757ab46ab4013638fac560a50ab8078554dd157 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ PLUMED_CONFIG_ENABLE([python],[search for python],[yes])
 
 AC_ARG_VAR(SOEXT,[extension of dynamic libraries (so/dylib)])
 AC_ARG_VAR(STATIC_LIBS,[variables that should be linked statically directly to MD code - configure will add here -ldl if necessary ])
-AC_ARG_VAR(LDSO,[command for linking shared library - configure will use CXX plus the proper flags ])
+AC_ARG_VAR(LDSHARED,[command for linking shared library - configure will use CXX plus the proper flags ])
 
 
 # by default use -O flag
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ AC_LANG(C++)
 
 # log the initial flags
 LD="$CXX"
-LDSO="$CXX"
+LDSHARED="$CXX"
 AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial CXX:         $CXX])
 AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial CXXFLAGS:    $CXXFLAGS])
 AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial CPPFLAGS:    $CPPFLAGS])
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial LDFLAGS:     $LDFLAGS])
 AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial LIBS:        $LIBS])
 AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial STATIC_LIBS: $STATIC_LIBS])
 AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial LD:          $LD])
-AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial LDSO:        $LDSO])
+AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial LDSHARED:    $LDSHARED])
 AC_MSG_NOTICE([Initial SOEXT:       $SOEXT])
 
 # check C++ flags
@@ -669,7 +669,7 @@ AC_DEFINE([_REENTRANT])
 #### Options for dynamic library to work properly ####
 AC_SUBST(SOEXT)
 AC_SUBST(LD)
-AC_SUBST(LDSO)
+AC_SUBST(LDSHARED)
 # these are libraries that should be linked also to MD engines
 AC_SUBST(STATIC_LIBS)
 
@@ -678,9 +678,9 @@ if test "$shared" == true ; then
   (Darwin)
     AC_MSG_NOTICE([*** Special settings for dynamic libraries on OSX ***])
     AC_MSG_NOTICE([Dynamic library extension is 'dylib'])
-    AC_MSG_NOTICE([LDSO needs special flags])
+    AC_MSG_NOTICE([LDSHARED needs special flags])
     SOEXT=dylib
-    LDSO="$LDSO -undefined suppress -flat_namespace -dynamiclib -Wl,-headerpad_max_install_names"
+    LDSHARED="$LDSHARED -undefined suppress -flat_namespace -dynamiclib -Wl,-headerpad_max_install_names"
     if test "$rpath" = true ; then
       AC_MSG_NOTICE([Switching off rpath on OSX])
       rpath=false
@@ -689,9 +689,9 @@ if test "$shared" == true ; then
   (Linux)
     AC_MSG_NOTICE([*** Special settings for dynamic libraries on Linux ***])
     AC_MSG_NOTICE([Dynamic library extension is 'so'])
-    AC_MSG_NOTICE([LDSO and LDFLAGS need special flags])
+    AC_MSG_NOTICE([LDSHARED and LDFLAGS need special flags])
     SOEXT=so
-    LDSO="$LDSO -shared"
+    LDSHARED="$LDSHARED -shared"
     PLUMED_CHECK_LDFLAGS([-rdynamic])
   ;;
   (*)
@@ -702,13 +702,13 @@ fi
 # check linking of runtime library
 if test -n "$SOEXT"
 then
-  AC_MSG_NOTICE([Using LDSO='$LDSO'])
+  AC_MSG_NOTICE([Using LDSHARED='$LDSHARED'])
   AC_MSG_NOTICE([Using LDFLAGS='$LDFLAGS'])
-  AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether LDSO can create dynamic libraries])
+  AC_MSG_CHECKING([whether LDSHARED can create dynamic libraries])
   rm -f conftest.*
   echo "void f(void){ return;}" > conftest.cpp
   $CXX $CXXFLAGS $CPPFLAGS -c conftest.cpp 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
-  $LDSO $LDFLAGS conftest.o -o conftest.$SOEXT 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
+  $LDSHARED $LDFLAGS conftest.o -o conftest.$SOEXT 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
   if test -f conftest.$SOEXT
   then
     AC_MSG_RESULT([yes])
@@ -722,10 +722,10 @@ then
     readelf=""
     AC_CHECK_PROG([readelf],[readelf],[found])
     if test "$readelf" == found ; then
-      test_LDSO="$LDSO -Wl,-R -Wl,/some/random/dir/"
-      $test_LDSO $LDFLAGS conftest.o -o conftest.$SOEXT 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
+      test_LDSHARED="$LDSHARED -Wl,-R -Wl,/some/random/dir/"
+      $test_LDSHARED $LDFLAGS conftest.o -o conftest.$SOEXT 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
       if readelf -d conftest.$SOEXT | grep RPATH | grep -q /some/random/dir ; then
-        LDSO="$LDSO -Wl,-R -Wl,\"$LIBRARY_PATH\""
+        LDSHARED="$LDSHARED -Wl,-R -Wl,\"$LIBRARY_PATH\""
       else
         AC_MSG_WARN([-R option seems not working, disabling rpath])
       fi
diff --git a/python/buildPythonInterface.py b/python/buildPythonInterface.py
index 72e853f6985197cde1b55e31b270781df2a5378e..8086f778cd969b3bb1f124beff1e9e9d28c3aa9b 100644
--- a/python/buildPythonInterface.py
+++ b/python/buildPythonInterface.py
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ plumedconfig = subprocess.check_output([plumedexe, 'info', '--configuration']).d
 for line in plumedconfig :
    if "CC=" in line : os.environ["CC"] = line.replace("CC=","").replace("\n","")
    if "CXX=" in line : os.environ["CXX"] = line.replace("CXX=","").replace("\n","")
-   if "LDSO=" in line : os.environ["LDSHARED"] = line.replace("LDSO=","").replace("\n","")
+   if "LDSHARED=" in line : os.environ["LDSHARED"] = line.replace("LDSHARED=","").replace("\n","")
 
 print( "Building interface using CC=" + os.environ["CC"] + " , CXX=" + os.environ["CXX"] + " and LDSHARED=" + os.environ["LDSHARED"] )
 
diff --git a/src/config/Makefile b/src/config/Makefile
index 07815034217b9f6ddb0cff505cbd8b1e76cd4ed2..b023915890f6b36f8ae27b768420d68bc535842b 100644
--- a/src/config/Makefile
+++ b/src/config/Makefile
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ Makefile.conf.xxd: ../../Makefile.conf
 compile_options.sh:
 	@echo Building compile_options.sh, a sourceable bash script with some compilation options
 	@echo "compile='"$(CXX) -c -I'"$$PLUMED_INCLUDEDIR/$$PLUMED_PROGRAM_NAME"'/ $(CPPFLAGS) $(CXXFLAGS) -o"'" > $@
-	@echo "link='"$(LDSO) $(DYNAMIC_LIBS) -o"'" >> $@
+	@echo "link='"$(LDSHARED) $(DYNAMIC_LIBS) -o"'" >> $@
 	@echo "soext='"$(SOEXT)"'" >> $@
 
 .PHONY: clean
diff --git a/src/lib/Makefile b/src/lib/Makefile
index b27f65adc0c8f734588205280fc93a7ee74a9a73..72ebfe1e7500719194b5d57f27828dab1f659781 100644
--- a/src/lib/Makefile
+++ b/src/lib/Makefile
@@ -330,17 +330,17 @@ endif
 $(PLUMED_KERNEL):$(OBJ_KERNEL)
 ifeq ($(PLUMED_INSTALL),Install)
 	mkdir -p install
-	cd install && $(LDSO) -o libplumedKernel.$(SOEXT) $(addprefix ../,$(OBJ_KERNEL)) $(DYNAMIC_LIBS)
+	cd install && $(LDSHARED) -o libplumedKernel.$(SOEXT) $(addprefix ../,$(OBJ_KERNEL)) $(DYNAMIC_LIBS)
 else
-	$(LDSO) -o $@ $^ $(DYNAMIC_LIBS)
+	$(LDSHARED) -o $@ $^ $(DYNAMIC_LIBS)
 endif
 
 $(PLUMED_SHARED_OBJ): $(OBJ_KERNEL) $(OBJ_WRAPPER)
 ifeq ($(PLUMED_INSTALL),Install)
 	mkdir -p install
-	cd install && $(LDSO) -o libplumed.$(SOEXT) $(addprefix ../,$(OBJ_KERNEL)) $(addprefix ../,$(OBJ_WRAPPER)) $(DYNAMIC_LIBS)
+	cd install && $(LDSHARED) -o libplumed.$(SOEXT) $(addprefix ../,$(OBJ_KERNEL)) $(addprefix ../,$(OBJ_WRAPPER)) $(DYNAMIC_LIBS)
 else
-	$(LDSO) -o $@ $^ $(DYNAMIC_LIBS)
+	$(LDSHARED) -o $@ $^ $(DYNAMIC_LIBS)
 endif
 
 $(PLUMED_MAIN_STATIC): $(OBJ_MAIN) $(OBJ_KERNEL) $(OBJ_WRAPPER)