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difference between API and DLL

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dll

winapi

api

I would like to know the exact differences between API and DLL. Thank you.

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imahan Avatar asked Dec 06 '10 11:12

imahan


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1 Answers

Pretty much the only connection between the two terms is that if you do native Windows programming, APIs you use or write will usually manifest as DLL files. But neither is this the only concrete form an API can take, nor does every DLL represent an API.

API means "Application Programming Interface" - it's an abstract term for a collection of code entities (functions, classes, etc. - depends on the programming language) that's intended to be used by programmers at large to access the functionality of an application or library.

A DLL is a file format on Windows that contains executable code as a way to modularize applications.

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Michael Borgwardt Avatar answered Oct 11 '22 03:10

Michael Borgwardt