LD_BIND_NOW doesn’t take effect on ELF PIE executable - elf

Question

Observations
When the Linux executable is compiled as PIE (Position Independent Executable, default on Ubuntu 18.04), the symbols from shared libraries (e.g. libc) will be resolved when the program starts executing, setting LD_BIND_NOW environment variable to null will not defer this process.
However, if the executable is compiled with the -no-pie flag, the symbol resolution can be controlled by LD_BIND_NOW.
Question
Is it possible to control when the symbols from share libraries is resolved on a ELF PIE executable?
Below is the code and system info in my test,
ubuntu: 18.04
kernel: Linux 4.15.0-50-generic #54-Ubuntu SMP Mon May 6 18:46:08 UTC 2019 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
gcc: gcc (Ubuntu 7.4.0-1ubuntu1~18.04) 7.4.0
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf("Hello world!\n");
}
Details of experiments (that leads to above conclusions).
The experiments are carried out in gdb-peda. Search for gdb-peda in the output will reveal the commands used for each step.
The address stored at GOT entry for puts will be displayed (by disp) whenever the execution proceeds in gdb. So the stage when it is patched with the real address can be easily spotted.
Outputs for -no-pie binary test.
Outputs for pie binary test.
BTW, the same question was originally posted in Reverse Engineering Stack Exchange, and the answer there confirmed above observations.

Answer 1

When the Linux executable is compiled as PIE (Position Independent Executable, default on Ubuntu 18.04), the symbols from shared libraries (e.g. libc) will be resolved when the program starts executing, setting LD_BIND_NOW environment variable to null will not defer this process.
However, if the executable is compiled with the -no-pie flag, the symbol resolution can be controlled by LD_BIND_NOW.
You are mistaken: the symbol resolution happens only when the program starts executing in either case, regardless of whether LD_BIND_NOW is defined or not.
What LD_BIND_NOW controls is whether all functions are resolved at once (during program startup), or whether such symbols are resolved lazily (the first time a program calls a given unresolved function). More on lazy resolution here.
As far as I understand, nothing in the above picture changes between PIE and non-PIE binaries. I'd be interested to know how you came to your conclusion that there is a difference.