File Extension DLL

File type: Dynamic Link Library File

About the DLL file type:

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The DLL file extension is an integral component of the Microsoft Windows Operating System environment including applications specifically intended for the Windows- based platform. This format file is used to represent the Dynamic Link Library used by the system for the storage of compiled sets of procedures that may include references to drivers utilized by software applications. This file type provides the application with the functionality of accessing system features as well as communicating with the various peripheral devices connected to the computer system such as printers, scanners, and modems among others. The contents of the DLL file extension are not meant to be modified manually because this will cause instability to its associated application. This file format represents the shared library concept implementation initiated by Microsoft Corporation for its entire Windows based Operating Systems and applications including the OS/2. The DLL file format is also synonymous to the OCX type, a DLL file that incorporates ActiveX control features. On legacy systems, the DRV file extension is used for shared library representation.

Detailed information for file extension DLL

Category: Data Files
File format: Prorprietary
Open with Windows: Microsoft Windows-based applications
Open with Linux: N/A
The DLL file extension is similar to the executable (EXE) format file which is considered as Portable Executable (PE) for both the 32- and 64-bit Windows versions including the New Executable (NE) programs of the 16-bit Windows systems. This particular file type can contain resources, data, codes, or a combination of any or all of the aforementioned. In a wider perspective, this particular type of file can be referenced as a resource DLL because they can provide functional resources to the system or application like in the case of icons and fonts used during runtime. In 32-bit computing, the organization of the DLL file format is divided into sections with every section possessing its own attributes set. In this context, any or all of the sections can have either a write, read-only, executable, or non-executable property. It is likewise possible for multiple applications to share similar resources contained in a single DLL file type. When actively utilized, the contents normally occupy a single location in the computer system's physical memory but do not use any page file space. If the physical memory is full, the code section will be reclaimed with the contents thrown out and reloaded at a later time (if necessary) directly from the DLL format file.