Dynamic Libraries and the Linker
Learn how dynamic libraries allow C programs to load external code at runtime using shared libraries and functions like dlopen, dlsym, and dlclose, enabling modular and updatable software design.
So far, we’ve been combining multiple files into one executable at compile time. But C also allows part of a program to be linked later, even while it’s running. In this lesson, we’ll explore how this is done using dynamic libraries, a feature that makes programs smaller, easier to update, and more modular.
Static linking vs. dynamic linking
In the previous lessons, when we compiled: