What's the differences between .dll , .lib, .h files?

c++ windows dll header-files
MemoryLeak picture MemoryLeak · Nov 22, 2009 · Viewed 40.2k times · Source

Why in a project should I include some *.lib, .h or some other files? And what are these things used for?

Answer

siukurnin picture siukurnin · Nov 22, 2009

  • .h: header file, its a source file containing declarations (as opposed to .cpp, .cxx, etc. containing implementations),

  • .lib: static library may contain code or just links to a dynamic library. Either way it's compiled code that you link with your program. The static library is included in your .exe at link time.

  • .dll: dynamic library. Just like a static one but you need to deploy it with your .exe file because it's loaded at run time.

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