Dynamic Link Libraries

Dynamic linking is the process of resolving references to external data and code at runtime or loadtime instead of at link time. A dynamic link library (DLL) is an object module which can be shared by more than one process.

It contains executable code for common functions, just as a static library (.lib) file does. However, when you link with a DLL (using an import library), the code in the DLL is not copied into the executable file. Instead, only the import definitions for DLL functions are copied, resulting in a smaller executable. At run time, the dynamic link library is loaded into memory, along with the .exe file.

You can dynamically link with the supplied IBM C and C++ Compilers runtime DLLs, as well as with your own DLLs.

There are two types of dynamic link libraries:

Advantages of Using a Dynamic Link Library



Linking
Static and Dynamic Linking
Resource DLLs


Create a DLL -- An Overview
Debug a DLL