dynamic-link library
Sign in to saveAlso known as DLL, Dynamic-link_library, dynamic link library
Microsoft's implementation of the shared library concept in Windows and OS/2
Key facts
- Filename extension
- .dll
- Internet media type
- application/vnd.microsoft.portable-executable
- Uniform type identifier uti
- com.microsoft.windows-dynamic-link-library
- Magic number
- 4D 5A ( MZ in ASCII )
- Developed by
- Microsoft
- Container for
- Shared library
via Wikipedia infobox
~25 min read
Encyclopedic overview
A dynamic-link library (DLL) is a shared library in the Microsoft Windows or OS/2 operating system. A DLL can contain executable code (functions), data, and resources.
A DLL file often has file extension .dll even though this is not required. The extension is sometimes used to describe the content of the file. For example, .ocx is a common extension for an ActiveX control and .drv for a legacy (16-bit) device driver.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “dynamic-link library” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.