How to use .dll in Boland C++

[funzy]

Hi all.
I use Borland C++ 5.02 and i want to use some features of a *.dll in my program. I dont know how to make this library available in my code.
Please help me.
Thanks a lot.

[dwks]

A DLL is a runtime library. If all you have is a DLL, you won't be able to use its code. You need a static library to link your program with. These static libraries are often called library.lib, or liblibrary.a.

What DLL do you wish to use? Is the code for it freely available?

[MacGyver]

You can use a DLL dynamically without a lib file by loading it into memory with the LoadLibrary() function, and then assigning a function pointer to the result of GetProcAddress(). This will give you the address of the function you wish to call. Go ahead and call it with the function pointer.

If you don't know how to handle function pointers or things like that, this is probably too advanced for you at present. If, however, you're comfortable with those elements of C, then check out on MSDN as to how to use DLLs this way.

[dwks]

Is that right? That's interesting . . . Do those functions exist in Borland C++?

Of course, unless you had a header file, you wouldn't be able to use macros and stuff like that that might make using the library easier.

[MacGyver]

Those are Windows API functions.

[dwks]

I can tell, because of your reference to MSDN . . . but I've never used Borland C++, and I wasn't sure if the said compiler would support those Windows functions.

[MacGyver]

If it's important, I can test it later perhaps, but I don't see a reason why they wouldn't support it. I know Borland's stuff supported various Windows API functions from past programs I've written with it, so again, I would expect these functions to be supported as well.