What Do DLLs Do?

[Nehmo]

When an application, let's say Word, loads a printer DLL, what exactly
is the app doing? What does a printer DLL do? Do simpler apps, like
Notepad, load printer DLLs too? Do all printers have DLLs associated
with them?

 

[R. McCarty]

DLL = Modular code or Reusable code. Most all programs are written
in a formatting called Routines. A function or operation is called. Instead
of writing lots of the same things from scratch you use a DLL (Dynamic
Link Library). It's also done so that programs can be smaller in size. So
if your code needs 100 routines, you use 50 from DLLs and only have
to write the 50 specific to your application. This way your program will
execute it's internal routines and then "Call" the other routines from Dll
modules.

 

[S.Sengupta]

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/DLL.html
http://www.maxpc.co.uk/tips/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=32283&subsectionid=719

regards,
S.Sengupta[MS-MVP]

 

[measekite]

DLL = Modular code or Reusable code. Most all programs are written
in a formatting called Routines.

Today we call them methods and they can consist of a pure method in that
they do something or a function where they return something.

 

[R. McCarty]

Appreciate the info, I guess it show my age. At least I didn't refer
to them as Subroutines.

 

[zakezuke]

What Do DLLs Do?
<Humor - your question has already been answered>

DLL files come in two flavors. Those who hang out resident in memory
and those that are are loaded as needed. What they do? The ones that
stay resident in memory flood your physical memory making sure that
programs, things you actually are using, have to swap to disk ruining
your efficency, and ones that are loaded dynamicly cause conflicts and
result in a crash.

That's what they do... fill up your ram and crash your computer. They
do that very well.

 

[Paul W]

<Humor - your question has already been answered>

DLL files come in two flavors. Those who hang out resident in memory
and those that are are loaded as needed. What they do? The ones that
stay resident in memory flood your physical memory making sure that
programs, things you actually are using, have to swap to disk ruining
your efficency, and ones that are loaded dynamicly cause conflicts and
result in a crash.

That's what they do... fill up your ram and crash your computer. They
do that very well.

what machine are you running. I have yet to have these problems.....

Maybe you should get a pro to look at your machine!!

 

[Nicolaas Hawkins]

what machine are you running. I have yet to have these problems.....

Maybe you should get a pro to look at your machine!!

You really should seek professional attention for that broken funnybone.

 

[bxf]

Appreciate the info, I guess it show my age. At least I didn't refer
to them as Subroutines.

Yes, and we don't need to link them as OVERLAYs either!

 

[Tim Slattery]

Appreciate the info, I guess it show my age. At least I didn't refer
to them as Subroutines.

DLL = Dynamic Load Library. A DLL is indeed a collection of
subroutines, callable from any Windows program. They are used for all
kinds of functionality. Core Windows functions like creating windows,
menus, minimizing, maximizing, allocating and freeing memory,
thousands more are packaged in system DLLs, and *all* windows programs
call them.

A driver is a special type of DLL, its functions interface between the
way that the Windows OS sees and operates a particular type of
hardware and one manufacturers implementation of that hardware.

I'm not exactly sure what a "printer DLL" would be. My best guess
would be a driver for a particular printer. In that case it would be
for the operating system, not for a particular application.

 

[zakezuke]

You really should seek professional attention for that broken funnybone.

Or get a pro to look at his machine and figure out why it's not
operating properly. That blue screen of death is a sign of *Microsoft
Quality*.

Microsoft - "Where the hell did my document go today?!?! ahhh... blue"