eli5 why do games have so many dll files?

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eli5 why do games have so many dll files?

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4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

DLL files often help programmes interact directly with the windows operating software, so they’re mostly there to add functionality and compatibility between the two programmes

Anonymous 0 Comments

They’re called library files because they contain resources for programs to work. They are accessible by multiple programs to share the data, but only when needed so it saves on memory. Each library would have a specific functionality though, so that’s why there are a lot of them, but since they’re only used when absolutely required they don’t waste a lot of system resources.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Games do not “have” .dll files, they “are” the .dll files.

DLL files are libraries of purpose-related programs. A game is a very complicated assembly of those programs, therefore it requires many libraries to serve different purposes.

You will have a separate dll for network, graphics, sound, input, disk interface, etc. Everything that happens in the game is coded in one of those.

Anonymous 0 Comments

A DLL is a Dynamic Link Library – they are, basically, reusable code. When I make a game and and am writing code to handle user input, I can choose to code that in the EXE, or I can code it in a DLL.

When I make a 2nd game, if I put the code in a DLL I can reference it, and then use it without having to write that code all over again. I can reference that DLL in any number of programs I want, and be able to use the code over and over again.

Game developers usually create these for input handling, audio playback and effects, graphics shaders and particle effects, etc. The game itself then is comparable to a building, and the DLLs are the bricks.