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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documentation, particularly for programming, you should not rely on the information found here, as it will be woefully out of date.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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