I have come across dll files on more than a few occasions. What I fail to understand is why are there so many of them and what are they used for? What is so special about these files and why do so many programs need so many of them?
DLL stands for Dynamic Linked Libraries designed by Microsoft as their implementation of shared files. The operating system on your computer needs some support files to run all the programs that you install on your computer.
A lot of such files are shared between programs meaning, several programs use the same support files to run. Installing the same files with every program is very counter-productive. Therefore, a shared file system was required. DLL files are shared files and independent of the program that installs them so that other programs that require the same file can use it too. Hence, DLL files are not linked to the program that installs them on the system in the first place.
Additional Resource: How to download vcruntime140_1.dll file?
The letters “DLL” stands for “Dynamic Link Library”. It is designed for use on holding multiple codes and procedures for Windows applications. They were created so that multiple applications can use them simultaneously which helps in saving memory consumption. DLL files are libraries of executable functions and or data that Windows applications can use.
These files normally provide one or more specific functions and an application can access the functions by generating either a dynamic link or a static link to the DLL file. A static link remains constant or fixed in the entire program execution while a dynamic link is created by the program as needed. There are also DLL files that contain only data.
DLL files normally end with the following extensions:
Certain DLL files come with the Windows operating system and available for any Windows applications. Other DLL files are written for specific applications and are loaded with the application. DLL files can be converted to static libraries with MSIL Disassembler or using DLL to Lib 3.00.
