C++ Tutorial index

C++ Tutorial C++ History C++ installation C++ First Program C++ cin and cout C++ Data type C++ Variable C++ operator C++ Keywords C++ OOPS Concepts C++ Comments C++ Data Abstraction C++ Identifier C++ Memory Management C++ Storage Classes C++ Void Pointer C++ Array to function C++ Expressions C++ Features C++ Interfaces C++ Encapsulation

C++ Control Statements

C++ If C++ Nested if C++ If-else C++ If-else-if C++ Switch C++ Break C++ Continue C++ Goto C++ for loop C++ While loop C++ Do while loop

C++ functions

function in C++ C++ Call by Value C++ Call by Reference C++ Recursion function C++ inline function C++ Friend function C++ Friend functions function Pointer in C++ Sizeof() Operators in C++ C++ Math functions swap() function in C++ rand() and srand() in C / C++ wcscpy(), wcslen(), wcscmp() functions in C++ sort() function in C++ C++ vardiac() function System() function in C++ Fread function in C++ Programming Fscanf function in The C++ Gmtime function in C/C++ abs() function in C++ Sleep function in C++ Stoi function in C++ String erase() in C++ String Trim in C++ isprint() function in c++ is_trivial function in C++ div() function in C++ Set insert function in C++ rint(), rintf(), rintl() in C++ String append() function in C++ String push_back() in C++ String replace() in C++ Transform function in C++ exit() and _Exit() in C and C++ Std partition_point in C++ unique() in C++ ctime() function in C++ Gets() and Puts() in C++ Hypot(), hypotf() and hypotl() in C++ Log function in C++ Nearbyint() function in C++ setf() function in C++ Fill Function in C++ Map Find Function in C++ Malloc and Calloc in C++ Operator Function in C++ cin.get() in C++ seekp() Function in C++ eof() Function in C++ Emplace Back in C++ C++ macro function C_str in C++ Clock() in C/C++ round() function in C++ scalbn() function in C++ Stable Sort function in C++ Rotate in C++ Std:: Sort_heap in C++ Std::includes() in C++ STL std::memset() function in C++ Wcscmp() function in C++ Static Member function in C++ atof() function in C++ C++ Sin() function with Example cin.ignore() function in C++ Member function in C++ Pop_front Vector in C++ Vector resize() in C++ Malloc() and new in C++ std::distance in C++ C++ Date and Time fork() in C++ std::min in C++ isprint() in C++ rdbuf() in C++ fixed() Function in C++ setw() in C++ seekg() Function in C++ isdigit() Function in C++

C++ Function Miscellaneous

Precision of floating point numbers Using these functions floor(), ceil(), trunc(), round() and setprecision() in C++ function overloading in C++ Add two numbers using the function in C++ Advantage and disadvantage friend function C++ ATM machine program in C++ using functions Returning Multiple Values from a function using Tuple and Pair in C++ Find the Size of Array in C/C++ without using sizeof() function Pure Virtual function in C++ With Example Program Returning a function Pointer from a function in C/C++ Passing a Vector to a function in C++ functions in C++ With Types and Examples C++ Macro function Example Using Default Arguments with Virtual functions Virtual functions and Runtime Polymorphism Fesetround() and Fegetround() in C++ and their application Object as function Argument in C++ Private Member function in C++ Function Overriding in C++ C++ Program for Addition of Two Numbers Using functions function Object in C++ Elements of User Defined function in C++ Inline Functions in C++ Virtual Function in C++

C++ Arrays

Single dimension array Two dimension array

C++ Strings

C++ Strings

C++ Inheritance

C++ inheritance Single level inheritance Multilevel inheritance Multiple inheritance Hierarchical inheritance Hybrid inheritance

C++ Polymorphism

C++ Polymorphism C++ Overloading C++ Overriding C++ Virtual function

C++ Pointers

C++ Pointers C++ this pointer

C++ Exception Handling

C++ Exception Handling

C++ Constructors

C++ Constructors Default Constructor Parameterize Constructor Copy constructor Constructor Overloading Destructor

C++ File Handling

C++ File Handling C++ Writing to file C++ Reading file C++ Close file

C++ Programs

Structure of C++ Program Hello World Program in C++ C++ Program to Implement Shell Sort C++ Program to Implement Merge Sort C++ program to read string using cin.getline() C ++ Program: Alphabet Triangle and Number Triangle C++ Program: Matrix Multiplication C++ Program to Print Fibonacci Triangle C++ Program to find the product array puzzle C++ Program To Find Largest Subarray With 0 Sum C++ Program To Move All Zeros To The End of The Array C++ Program to find the element that occurs once C++ Program to find the largest number formed from an array Palindrome Number Program in C++ LCM Program in C++ Armstrong Number Program in C++ Factorial Program in C++ C++ Prime number program Program to convert infix to postfix expression in C++ Programs to Print Pyramid Patterns in C++ Array program in C++ Pattern programs in C++ Leap Year Program in C++ C++ Program for FCFS Depth First Search Program to Traverse a Graph in C++ inheritance Program in C++ Program that produces different results in C and C++ Example Program in C++ for input and Output Calculator Program using Switch in C++ Program for COPY Constructor in C++ Bank Program in C++ Anagram Program in C++

C++ Operators

Unary Operators in C++ Delete Operator in C++ C++ Bitwise XOR Operator Binary Operator Overloading in C++ Scope Resolution Operator in C++ C++ Ternary Operator New Operator in C++ Overloading array index operator in C++ Operator overloading in C++ Operators that cannot be overloaded in C++ Default Assignment Operator and References in C++ Conversion Operator in C++ Unary Operator Overloading in C++ Benefits of Operator Overloading in C++ Assignment Operator Overloading in C++ New and Delete Operator in C++ Insertion Operator in C++ Increment Operator in C++ Bitwise Operator in C++

C++ Examples

C++ Programming Examples While Loop Examples in C++ for Loop Examples in C++ Do-While Loop Examples in C++ SDL library in C++ with Examples C++ tcp client server example C++ tcp server example TCP Client Server Example in C++ Example of Parameterized Constructor in C++ Example of User Defined Data Type in C++

C++ Differences

C Vs C++ free() vs delete() in C++ Constructor Vs Destructor Passing by Reference Vs. Passing by the pointer in C++ C++ vs C# Structure Vs Class in C++ Virtual function Vs Pure Virtual function Structure Vs Class in C++ Exception Handling in C++ vs Java Static keyword in C++ vs Java inheritance in C++ vs Java C++ 11 vs C++ 14 vs C++ 17 Templates in C++ vs Generics in Java Bitwise Operator vs Logical Operator Type difference of Character literals in C VS C++ Copy Constructor vs Assignment Operator in C++ Map vs unordered_map in C++ Differences between #define & const in C/C++ Differences Between C Structures and C++ Structures Difference between Two Sets in C++ Difference between Exit and Return Differences between Local and Global Variable Difference between OOP and POP in C++ Difference between exit() and _Exit() in C++ Difference between int main() and int main(void) in C/C++ Difference Between Overloading and Overriding in C++ std::set_symmetric_difference in C++ Difference between Private and Protected in C++ Difference Between Encapsulation and Abstraction in C++ Difference between Template and Macro in C++ Difference between Abstraction and Interface in C++ Differences Between C++ and Javascript

How To

How to concatenate two strings in C++ How to Reverse a String in C++ using Do-While Loop How to Reverse a String in C++ using for Loop How to Reverse a String in C++ using While Loop How to create a table in C++ How to Setup Environment for C++ Programming on Mac How to call a void function in C++ How to create a directory or folder in C/C++ How to create a library in C++ How to create a stack in C++ How to create the Processes with fork in C++ How to Handle Divide by Zero Exception in C++ How to Declare Unordered Sets in C++ How to Sort an Array in C++ How to run program in turbo c++ How to Use Getline in C++ How is Multiset Implemented in C++ How to Build a Program in C++ How to Declare a 2d Array Dynamically in C++ How to create a button in C++ How the value is passed in C++ How to calculate size of string in C++ How to convert binary string to int in C++ How to convert string to float in C++ How to remove space from string in C++ How to use pair in C++ How to use the string find() in C++ How to Remove an Element From an Array in C++ How to Take Space Separated input in C++ How to Copy in Turbo C++ How to Use Pow in C++ How to Use Set in C++ How to Create Singleton Class in C++ How to Allocate Memory Dynamically in C++ How to Close Turbo C++ in Windows 10 How to Use Modulus in C++

C++ Questions

What does Buffer Flush mean in C++ What is endl in C++ What is Unary Operator Overloading in C++ Which operators cannot be overloaded in C++ What is Static Member function in C++ What is This Pointer in C++ What is Upcasting in C++ What Kind of Exceptions Are Available in C++ What is Memory Allocation for Objects in C++ What is a Linked List in C++ is assignment operator inherited in C++ When should we write own Assignment operator in C++ What is an Object in C++ What is Copy Constructor in C++ What is a Static Member Function in C++

C++ Interview Questions

Advanced C++ interview Questions Oops Interview Questions in C++

Miscellaneous

External merge sort in C++ Remove duplicates from sorted array in C++ C++ References C++ Mutable keyword initialize Array of objects with parameterized constructors in C++ Storage Classes in C goto statement in C and C++ C++ String Concatenation Heap Sort in C++ Swap numbers in C++ input Iterators in C++ Fibonacci Series in C++ Stack in C++ Maps in C++ Queue in C++ C++ Bitset C++ Algorithms Priority Queue in C++ C++ Multimap C++ Deque C++ array of Pointers Timsort Implementation Using C++ CPP Templates C++ Aggregation C++ Enumeration C++ Object Class C++ Queue initialize Vector in C++ Vector in C++ C++ STL Components C++ Maximum index Problem C++ find missing in the second array C++ Namespaces C++ OOPs Concept C++ Static C++ Structs C++ Try-Catch C++ User Defined Exceptions C++ Virtual Destructor Snake Code in C++ Splitting a string in C++ C++ Bidirectional Iterators C++ forward Iterators C++ Iterators C++ Output Iterators C++ Range-based for Loop Converting string into integer in C++ Type conversion in C++ Binary to Decimal in C++ Bit Manipulation in C++ C++ Constructor C++ Dijkstra Algorithm Using the Priority Queue C++ int into String C++ Signal Handling Decimal to Binary in C++ Decimal to Hexadecimal in C++ Decimal to Octal in C++ Hexadecimal to Decimal in C++ Octal to Decimal in C++ Reverse a Number in C++ C++ forward Iterators C++ Output Iterators Char Array to String in C++ Constructor Overloading in C++ Default arguments in C++ Different Ways to Compare Strings in C++ Dynamic Binding in C++ SET Data Structure in C++ Upcasting and Downcasting in C++ Reverse an Array in C++ Fast input and Output in C++ Copy elision in C++ Array of sets in C++ Binary Search in C++ Implementing the sets without C++ STL containers Smart pointers in C++ Types of polymorphism in C++ Const Keyword in C++ Type Casting in C++ Stringstream in C++ and its applications C++ Scope of Variables Star pattern in C++ using for Loops Top 5 IDEs for C++ That You Should Try Once Assertions in C/C++ C++ Convert int to String Continue in C++ While loop Diamond Pattern in C++ using for Loop infinite loop in C++ Loops in C++ Auto keyword in C++ C++ STL (Standard Template Library) Divide by Zero Exception in C++ Dynamic Constructor in C++ Dynamic Memory Allocation in C++ Floating Point Operations and Associativity in C, C++ and Java Implementation of a Falling Matrix in C++ Message Passing in C++ Pointer to Object in C++ Ways to Copy a Vector in C++ Structure Sorting (By Multiple Rules) in C++ Similarities between C++ and Java C++ Tricks for Competitive Programming Desired Capabilities in Selenium Web Driver in C++ Socket Programming in C++ Template Specialization in C++ Classes and Objects in C++ Convex hull Algorithm in C++ DES in C++ Structured Binding in C++ Functors in C++ Lambda Expression in C++ Roadmap to C++ Programming Substring in C++ Virtual base class in C++ Bits stdc++.h in C++ Top 14 Best Free C++ IDE (Editor & Compiler) for Windows in 2022 Bitmasking in C++ Features of OOPS in C++ Hospital Management Project in C++ include Guards in C++ Iostream in C++ Method overriding in C++ Naming Convention in C++ Nullptr in C++ Object Slicing in C++ Principles of Object-Oriented Programming in C++ Processing strings using std string stream in C++ Random Number Generator in C++ Singleton Design Pattern in C++ Size_t Data Type in C++ Skyline Problem in C++ Web Development in C++ Data Hiding in C++ Hashing in C++ Object in C++ Sum of all Elements between k1’th and k2’th Smallest Elements Virtual class in C++ Vector Size in C++ Top best IDEs for C/C++ Developers in 2022 Tensorflow in C++ Sliding Window Technique in C++ Reverse String Word-Wise in C++ RTTI in C++ Pthreads or POSIX Threads in C++ Reserved Keywords in C++ 10 Best C and C++ Books for Beginners & Advanced Programmers Add two numbers represented by two arrays in C++ Array of Object in C++ Containership in C++ Counting Frequencies of Array Elements in C++ Decltype type Specifier in C++ Dynamic _Cast in C++ Features and Use of Pointers in C/C++ int Max and int Min in C/C++ is It Fine to Write Void Main Or Main in C/C++ Compile Time Polymorphism in C++ Division in C++ Factorial of a Number in C++ using while Loop Multiset in C++ 4 Pillars of OOPs Approach in C++ Backtracking Time Complexity in C++ C++ Global Variable C++ Pipe Tutorial Observer Design Pattern in C++ Private inheritance in C++ Pthread in C++ Parameters Pointers in C++ Abstract Factory Design Pattern in C++ Ascending order in C++ Call by Pointer in C++ Constexpr in C++ Deadlock in C++ Design Patterns in C++ Factory Method for Designing Pattern in C++ Name Mangling and extern in C++ Preventing Object Copy in C++ Quick Sort in C++ Single Handling in C++ Use of inheritance in C++ User-defined literals in C++ Vector methods in C++ Void * in C and C++ Zombie and Orphan Process in C++ List and Vector in C++ List iterators in C++ Merging Two Vectors in C++ Early Binding and Late Binding in C++ Factory Design Pattern in C++ Fisher-Yates shuffle algorithm in C++ for Auto in C++ Group anagrams in C++ Dynamic Casting in C++ 2D Vector initialization in C++ C++ GUI Visual Studio C++ IPC C++ Permutation Overloading Stream insertion in C++ Array sum in C++ STL C++ Define Macro C++ Design C++ Factory Pattern Convert String to Uppercase in C++ initializer list in C++ Iterator invalidation in C++ Lower bound in C++ Modulus of Two float numbers or double number Pass by value in C++ Stack size in C++ Unordered_map in C++ Binary String to int C++ Boost C++ Exception handling in constructor and destructor in C++ Explain class template in C++ Kadane Algorithm in C++ Map of Pairs in STL Pair in C++ Access Specifiers in C++ Add Two Numbers in C++ Using Class C++ Socket Programming Windows Cube root in C++ C++ Protected inheritance C++ Return Object Static Data Members in C++ Association in C++ Boost libraries in C++ Automatic Storage Class in C++ C++ Move Constructor Cast in C++ C++ 11 Lambda C++ Multithreading Bottom-up Approach in C++ C++ Static Class C++ Static Member C++ Static Variable C++ Template Class Implementation Kruskals Algorithm in C++ Kth Permutation Sequence in C++ Kth Smallest Element Using Priority Queue in C++ Min Heap in C++ Multilevel inheritance in C++ Playfair Cipher Algorithm in C++ Exception Handling in Java and C++ Sorting in C++ Time and Space Complexity for Loops in C++ Convert Vector To String in C++ Cascading in C++ Control Structure in C++ Passing Object as argument in C++ Vector Pair in C++ String Data Types in C++ Topological Sort in C++ C++ Move Semantics C++ Static Library Linking Call by Value and Call by Reference in C++ Data Structures algorithms and application in C++ Dereferencing a Pointer in C++ Linked List in C++ All Swing Components in C++ anonymous Object in C++ Cerr in C++ Control Flow Statement in C++ cstdlib in C++ Exception Objects in C++ Base Class and Derived Class in C++ Creating A Menu in C++ Escape Sequence in C++ Explicit in C++ int range in C++ Maximum Value in Vector in C++ NPTEL Programming in C++ Shared Pointer in C++ Static Member Function in C++ With Example The Diamond Pattern in C++ Const ptr C++ Const_Cast C++ Area Of Triangle in C++ Array input in C++ Cin String in C++ Coroutine in C++ Gui Design in C++ integer in C++ Advantages and Disadvantages of inheritance in C++ C++ IDE Linux C++ Mini Project With Source Code And Output C++ Variables Types Containers in C++ Dynamic Binding in C++ Explain Access Specifiers in C++ Iomanip in C++ Noexcept in C++ C++ Reference Initializer in C++ Constant Arguments in C++ Vector in C++ Stl Singleton Pattern in C++ Error Handling in C++ C++ Thread Id to Int C Str in C++ C++ Shared Ptr Scope Resolution Operator in C++ C++ Random Number Between 1 and 10 File Opening Mode in C++ New and Delete in C++ Big Integers in C++ Stack Unwinding in C++ C++ Syntax Link Map cbegin() and cend() function in C++ STL Hamming Code Implementation in C++ Files and Streams in C++ Private Destructor in C++ Semaphore in C++ Map Emplace_hint() function in C++ STL Complex Number Program in C++ Meta Classes in C++ C++ Delegates Custom Sort in C++ RAII in C++ Babylonian Square Root Algorithm in C++ File Input and output operation in C++ Sum of Digits of a Number in C++ C++ Type Traits Binary Search Tree Program in C++ Tree in C++ Built in Types in C++ Catch all Exceptions in C++ C++ Template Class Declaration and Definition C++ Generic Programming Introduction Fundamental Data Types in C++ API in C++ Menu Driven Program in C++ Exception Specification in C++ Bit Manipulation in C++ Dynamic Initialization Of Objects in C++ Returning Object from a Function in C++ Class and Structure in C++ Edmonds Karp Algorithm in C++ Flush in C++ Find Substring in C++ Input and Output Operators in C++ Final in C++ Lvalue and Rvalue in C++ C++ Singleton File Stream in C++ Has a Relationship in C++ Character Set in C++ Menu Driven Program in C++ Final Keyword in C++ Associative Containers in C++ Decltype in C++ Insert Function in C++ Metaclass in C++ Move Constructor in C++ Move Semantics in C++

How to create a library in C++
2022-11-30 21:20:12

How to create a library in C++

Before going on to the creation of a library, let’s understand its meaning.

What is a library?

In simple words, a library is a collection of numerous functions, methods, classes, header files etc. One or more header files and an object library make up a C++ library. The class definitions and other information required to access library functions are provided in the header files. Your software is linked with the object library's-built functions and data to create an executable program.

The C++ class libraries are reusable, modular pieces of code. You can integrate sections of code that have already been developed and tested using class libraries.

The most famous library in C++ is Standard Template Library, which means STL, that almost contains every possible thing, which is very helpful in implementing Data Structures and Algorithms.

Segments of the C++ Standard Library can be characterized as follows:

The Standard Function Library: The Standard Function Library is a collection of all-purpose, independent functions that are not contained in any specific class. The function library comes from C by inheritance.

The Object-Oriented Class Library: The object-oriented class library is a collection of classes and related functions.

The point to be noted is that libraries are also classified as Static and Dynamic based on their type.

Static Library: Procedures in a static library are compiled and linked into your program directly. When you generate a program that uses a static library, the executable results include every feature that the static library offers. Static libraries have the benefit of requiring only the executable to be distributed for users to run your software. This guarantees that the appropriate version of the library is always used with your software because the library becomes a part of it. Additionally, you can use static libraries much like the functionality you've created for your own application because they become a part of it. But the disadvantage of a static library is it wastes a lot of memory and can't be upgraded easily. Also, in order to upgrade them, again, all the files that are executable have to be replaced.

Dynamic Library: When running, a program will load procedures from a dynamic library (also called a shared library). A dynamic library does not merge with your executable when you generate a program that requires it; instead, it stays as a different thing. Therefore, extension Dynamic libraries provide the benefit of allowing multiple programs to share a single copy, which saves storage space. The ability to upgrade the dynamic library without having to change all the executables that depend on it may be of more significant benefit.

Since dynamic libraries are not linked to your program, programs that use dynamic libraries must manually load and communicate with the dynamic library. This method makes interacting with a dynamic library challenging and confusing.

The DLLs can be loaded dynamically during run time. Usually, programmers have to write code to do so, like LoadLibrary or LoadLibraryEx. You will need to include the right header files before you can use anything from a library. The compiler knows the prototypes of functions and can check for the correct spelling of function names and for the valid number and type of parameters you pass to it in calls. The library files tell the compiler how to call the function in the DLL.

Note: Both static and dynamic libraries will have different extensions depending upon the usage of Operating Systems like Windows, Linux etc.

Advantages

A. Usually, libraries come in the form of meaning 2, a collection of code that is compiled separately. Sharing common stuff at the source code level can be done, but it might not be the best practice.

B. Those that are essential and can be seen as an extension of the language. This is how you can deal with, for instance, files in C and C++. Also, the entire STL is a great example. Nowadays. Things like vectors and lists are considered essential.

C. Third-party or open-source libraries that are written by others, maybe for profit.

D. Libraries wrote within your company, mainly or exclusively for use within their own projects.

E. Standard code, so other developers understand what it does straight away. Tested code in lots of apps. Many bugs have been flushed out, and many person-hours of development work will be saved.

Now let’s see the working of a library:

Program to demonstrate the working of a Library:

#include <iostream>
#include<stack>
using namespace std;


int main()
{
    stack<int>st;
    st.push(4);
    st.push(3);
    st.push(2);
    st.push(1);
    st.pop();
    while(!st.empty())
    {
        int x=st.top();
        cout<<x<<endl;
        st.pop();
    }
    
    return 0;
}

Output:

2
3
4

Explanation: Here, in the header file, we included a library called #include<stack>. This particular library contains all inbuilt methods, functions, etc., related to stack. In the program, we can see the operations like push, pop, top, empty etc., and as they are already implemented and stored in the stack library, there is absolutely no need for us to implement them again; we can directly use them.

Now, let's see the creation of a static library.

Creation of a static library

1.Create a C++ file that has any methods, functions in the library.

Let the file name be Filename: lib_mylibrary.cpp

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
void func(void)
{
  cout<<"func() is a functon which is called from a static library"<<endl;
}

2. Create a header file with .h extension for the library

 Filename is : lib_mylibrary.h

void func(void);

3. Compile library files.

g++ -c lib_mylibrary.cpp -o lib_mylibrary.o

4. Static library creation. In this stage, many object files will be combined into a single static library.

ar rcs lib_mylibrary.a lib_mylibrary.o

5. Our static library is now usable. At this point, all we have to do to use lib mylib.a is copy it somewhere else. Let's keep the library in the current directory for demonstration purposes.

Working:

1. Create a cpp file with main function

#include "lib_mylibrary.h"
void main() 
{
  func();
}

2. Compile the driver program.

g++ -c driver.cpp -o driver.o

3. Now, it’s time to link the static library & compiled driver program to. Here, -L defines the location of a static library.

g++ -o driver driver.o -L. -l_mylibrary

4. Run the driver program

func() is a functon, which is called from a static library

Let’s see the creation of a dynamic library.

1.Create a C++ file that has any methods, functions in the library.

Let the file name be Filename: lib_mylibrary.cpp

#include "lib_mylibrary.h"
void main() 
{
  func();
}

2. Create a header file with .h extension for the library

 Filename is : lib_mylibrary.h

void func(void);

3. Compile library files.

g++ -shared -o lib_mylibrary.so lib_mylibrary.o

The “-shared” flag instructs to generate a shared library. 

4. Static library creation. In this stage, many object files will be combined into a single static library.

ar rcs lib_mylibrary.a lib_mylibrary.o

5. Our static library is now usable. At this point, all we have to do to use lib mylib.a is copy it somewhere else. Let's keep the library in the current directory for demonstration purposes.

Working:

1. Create a cpp file with main function

#include "lib_mylibrary.h"
void main() 
{
  func();
}

2. Compile the driver or main program.

g++ -c driver.o -o driver.so -o a.out

3. Now, it’s time to link the static library & compiled driver program to. Here, -L defines the location of a static library.

g++ -o driver driver.o -L. -l_mylibrary a.out

4. Run the driver program

func() is a functon which is called from a dynamic library.

So far, we have seen the creation of static and dynamic libraries as well as their working and implementation. Let’s have a quick overview of it.

Overview

Libraries come in two types:

Static libraries and dynamic (shared) libraries.

At the time of compilation, static libraries are copied into the executable.

Dynamic libraries are loaded and linked at runtime rather than being duplicated.

How to use static and dynamic libraries in Linux.

LD LIBRARY PATH and -rpath is the two ways to provide a library search path for dynamic libraries.

A library that contains several functions and possibly other items like #defines, constants, classes, etc., that you may use in your application by including the header files. You must instruct your compiler where to find the library's source code, for example, by including the files in your project in your IDE. You may now use the library's functionality without having to create it yourself by reading the documentation, help, and comments. It is frequently detailed how to use the functions, what they accomplish, what parameters are required, and what is returned, maybe with coding examples.

A DLL or shared library has already been independently compiled, similar to what was described before (.so). You only need to have enough of the library's source code to link to it now, not the whole thing. As a result, you'll also require lib files, DLL files, and .so files. Libraries from third parties may or may not come with their complete source code. They are partly protected against others stealing their work by only providing the headers, dll, and library files rather than the source code. Programs can also load more quickly by choosing to load some DLLs later when they are required and take up less memory because other processes can share DLLs. Then you only need one copy of the DLL in memory.

DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library. This word can be used to refer to libraries more generally or specifically to Windows.

Libraries in Unix or Linux have the .so file extension, which is also used as a shorthand to refer to libraries on these operating systems. You must create a separate project and specify to your IDE that the project type is a library rather than an executable or a different kind in order to create a library in meaning two on your own as well.