18.4.3 Creating and Using the DLL

Now you can use LINK to create the DLL. The LINK utility uses the object module of the DLL code and the module definition to create the CSTR.DLL:

LINK CSTR.OBJ , , , , MYDYNLIB.DEF

If linking is successful, the linker creates a file with a .DLL extension.

You can link several modules together to create a DLL. The following command line links several object modules and an object-code library (BIGLIB.LIB) to form a DLL. The module-definition file is MYDYNLIB.DEF:

LINK MOD1 MOD2 MOD3,,, BIGLIB, MYDYNLIB

To use the DLL, copy the .DLL file to a directory listed in the LIBPATH setting in your CONFIG.SYS file.

To create an executable file using the DLL, link the client program with the import library as shown:

LINK CALLDLL.OBJ , , , MYDYNLIB.LIB

By running CALLDLL.EXE in separate OS/2 windows, you can see that both client programs access the DDL at the same time. When the last process exits the DLL, the DLL is removed from memory.