LINK Help (linkx.hlp) (Table of Contents; Topic list)
Important Notice
The pages on this site contain documentation for very old MS-DOS software, purely for historical purposes. If you're looking for up-to-date documentation, particularly for programming, you should not rely on the information found here, as it will be woefully out of date.
Linking for OS/2 and Windows
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─────Linking for OS/2 and Windows───────────────────────────────────────────
 
     Linking a program for OS/2 or Windows is similar to linking a
     program for DOS. The principal difference is that most programs
     created for DOS run as stand-alone applications. On the other
     hand, programs for OS/2 or Windows (segmented executable files)
     generally call one or more dynamic-link libraries (DLLs).
     See: Dynamic-Link Libraries
 
     Import and Export Definitions
 
     Each DLL contains export definitions. Functions and data items not
     exported can be used only from within the library. Each export
     definition specifies a function name.
 
     Each application contains import definitions for the dynamic-link
     functions and data items the program needs. These definitions tell
     OS/2 or Windows which DLLs to load when the program is run.
 
     Import and export statements are given in a module-definition file.
     See: Module-Definition Files
 
     Methods of Linking Segmented Executable Files
 
       1. Linking without an Import Library
       2. Linking with an Import Library
 
     The second method requires more steps but has certain advantages.
     See: IMPLIB Summary
          Import Libraries
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