Building Dynamic Libraries
As the name suggests, a dynamic library (also known as a shared library) is in the first place a library: a collection of object files that have something in common. But unlike a static library, it is dynamic. What’s the difference?
Understanding Dynamic Linking
The first difference between a static library and a dynamic library is in the name. The extension of a dynamic library on Linux/macOS is so (“shared object,” such as libmyjson.so). Microsoft calls them “dynamic linked libraries” with the extension dll, as in libmyjson.dll.
The second difference is in the way a library is linked to the rest of the program. A static library is permanently linked to an executable file, and each process has its copy of the library. ...
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