Dynamic Class Loading Idea

[Bruce Adams]

Craig Black Wrote:

> 
> "Bruce Adams" <tortoise_74 at yeah.who.co.uk> wrote in message 
> news:fgicuv$11j1$1 at digitalmars.com...
> > Daniel Keep Wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>
> >> Craig Black wrote:
> >> >> I like DDL's approach, in which it acts as a run-time linker. It uses
> >> >> relocation data in OBJ files to find address references and fix them
> >> >> (thus "relocating" the code for any memory address) when loading the
> >> >> libraries.
> >> >
> >> > Does this relocation use function pointers?
> >>
> >> Here's how I understand it.  DDL is a linker.  The only difference
> >> between DDL and dmd/gcc is that it works at run time instead of compile
> >> time.
> >>
> >> What you described is basically what a linker does, hence what DDL does.
> >>
> >> -- Daniel
> >
> > Its also what an operating does to load dynamic link libraries or shared 
> > objects.
> >
> 
> Right, but the operating system does not do this when loading dll's or so's 
> at run-time. 
> 

It depends on the operating system but generally yes it does. On some systems libraries are only loaded when they are first needed. On others they are loaded whent the program starts. And then there's usually a runtime API of some sort. LoadLibrary and GetProcAddress on windows. Those only half count because their too low level.

I don't know much about DDL is it OS specific or portable?