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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-06-11T17:25:03+00:00

The Dynamic Shared Object library on Linux is approximately equal the dll in Windows.

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The Dynamic Shared Object library on Linux is approximately equal the dll in Windows. That’s what I found online. But there are some differences and they are explained here: Architecturally what is the difference between a shared object (SO) and a dynamic link library (DLL)?

Then I am confused:

  1. In linux one can use -shared to create a DSO library, then link with -lmylib. But in windows, things are different. One have to add dllexport into the code. Only the “exported” part can be linked (If I am correct). Is there a option to make windows dll link-able without adding dllexport? (I tried to make a dll with just functions and no dllexport, but what I can tell so far is that the dll without dllexport is something useless, right?)

  2. What does MinGW do? I thought it create dlls in the days when I used it. But now I think the library that created by MinGW-gcc -shared is something else. Is it windows version lib.so? Can MSVS/intel compiler do the similar thing?

I am asking these because of cross platform issues. For example, a linux code can be compiled without any changes on windows machine. But if one want to create a dll by using the code (compiled with MSVS) which is equivalent to the .so without modifying code (adding dllexport), it is impossible. Am I right?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Is there a option to make windows dll link-able without adding
    dllexport?

    No, you need dllexport.

    I have no idea what you mean by the second question, sorry.

    Am I right?

    Correct me if I’m wrong but you’re restating your first question. So yes you’re right, you can’t do that. you need dllexport.

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