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A linker or link editor is a computer program that combines intermediate software build files such as object and library files into a single executable file such a program or library. A linker is often part of a toolchain that includes a compiler and/or assembler that generates intermediate files that the linker processes.
Dynamic loading is a mechanism by which a computer program can, at run time, load a library (or other binary) into memory, retrieve the addresses of functions and variables contained in the library, execute those functions or access those variables, and unload the library from memory.
Linking is often referred to as a process that is performed when the executable is compiled, while a dynamic linker is a special part of an operating system that loads external shared libraries into a running process and then binds those shared libraries dynamically to the running process. This approach is also called dynamic linking or late ...
A program that is configured to use a library can use either static-linking or dynamic-linking.Historically, libraries could only be static. [4] For static-linking (), the library is effectively embedded into the programs executable file, while for dynamic-linking the library can be loaded at runtime from a shared location, such as system files.
Dynamic linking or late binding allows for using a dynamic library by linking program library references with the associated objects in the library either at load-time or run-time. At program build-time, the linker records what library objects the program uses. When the program is run, a dynamic linker or linking loader associates program ...
Relocation is the process of assigning load addresses for position-dependent code and data of a program and adjusting the code and data to reflect the assigned addresses. [1] [2] Prior to the advent of multiprocess systems, and still in many embedded systems, the addresses for objects are absolute starting at a known location, often zero.
Historically, all library linking was static, but today dynamic linking is an alternative and entails inherent trade-offs.. An advantage of static over dynamic is that the application is guaranteed to have the library routines it requires available at run-time, as the code to those routines is embedded in the executable file.
Loading a program involves either memory-mapping or copying the contents of the executable file containing the program instructions into memory, and then carrying out other required preparatory tasks to prepare the executable for running. Once loading is complete, the operating system starts the program by passing control to the loaded program ...