I am a beginner in the software field. I have a Windows PC, and while I was going through the folders in C drive, I came across a folder called system32. There are a lot of files here, and I heard from my friends that these are DLL files, and it is required for the proper functioning of my system. I would like to know what DLL files are and why are these so important?
A DLL file whose acronym is Dynamic Link Library, is a system file that is used by other programs for some functionalities. For example, there is a file that is used by the printer. Now, this file is used by other programs like Word or PowerPoint or Excel for printing. So this file will be stored in your computer as a DLL file.
Like the above example, there happens to be a lot of things that will be common to various applications in your system. So, the concept of DLL files was introduced by Microsoft, such that any program can use it; this saves memory and makes the overall computer efficient. Examples for DLL files are kernel32, user32, keyboard layout DLLs, etc.
A word of caution here is not to delete these files because in doing so it can result in improper functioning of your system, and reinstalling it can be hard. These are not executable files. It runs when it is attached to another executable file. So always have your Antivirus software up to date so that other files in your system are not corrupt which can in turn corrupt this DLL file.
