Question

I’m having difficult understanding my text, and I want to know each section extremely well. Please, be as descriptive as possible. Thank you, very much.

Answer 1

Programmers often find they have some code they would like to use in several programs, or code they would like to allow other programmers to make use of. They could copy-and-paste the logic into every program, or they could place the logic in common header and implementation files that they include in every project. Neither of those approaches is terribly elegant (or efficient).

Static libraries are one way to share logic so that other programs and programmers can make use of it. A static library is a binary file (often with a .LIB extension) suitable for input to the linker. A programmer consumes the static library by writing code to call one or more functions implemented in the static library and by arranging for the linker to read that static library file as an additional input. During the build, the linker will resolve all references including those to functions implemented within the static library. Often a static library is paired with a header file that describes the functions implemented in the library.

Dynamic Link Libraries are another way to share logic. Dynamic libraries are also binary files (often with a .DLL extension). Unlike static libraries, DLLs are not used as input to the linker. Instead, DLLs are loaded dynamically during program execution. DLLs may be explicitly loaded by calls to LoadLibraryEx and GetProcAddress or implicitly loaded when the consuming program is loaded.