Advantages of Dynamic Linking

Dynamic linking has the following advantages over static linking:

• Processes that load a DLL at the same base address can use a single DLL simultaneously, sharing a single copy of the DLL code in physical memory. Doing this saves memory and reduces swapping.

• When the functions in a DLL change, the applications that use them do not need to be recompiled or relinked as long as the function arguments, calling conventions, and return values do not change. In contrast, statically linked object code requires that the application be relinked when the functions change.

• A DLL can provide after-market support. For example, a display driver DLL can be modified to support a display that was not available when the application was initially shipped.

• Programs written in different programming languages can call the same DLL function as long as the programs follow the same calling convention that the function uses. The calling convention (such as C, Pascal, or standard call) controls the order in which the calling function must push the arguments onto the stack, whether the function or the calling function is responsible for cleaning up the stack, and whether any arguments are passed in registers. For more information, see the documentation included with your compiler.

A potential disadvantage to using DLLs is that the application is not self-contained; it depends on the existence of a separate DLL module. The system terminates processes using load-time dynamic linking if they require a DLL that is not found at process startup and gives an error message to the user. The system does not terminate a process using run-time dynamic linking in this situation, but functions exported by the DLL are not available to the program.

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