Library (computing): Difference between revisions

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A library can be used by multiple, independent consumers (programs and other libraries). This differs from resources defined in a program which can usually only be used by that program. When a consumer uses a library resource, it gains the value of the library without having to implement it itself. Libraries encourage [[software reuse]] in a [[Modular programming|modular]] fashion. Libraries can use other libraries resulting in a hierarchy of libraries in a program.

When writing code that uses a library, a [[programmer]] only needs to know how to use it, its [[application programming interface]] (API) {{endash}} not its internal details. For example, a program could use a library that [[Abstraction (computer science)|abstracts]] a complicated [[system call]] so that the programmer can use the system feature without spending time to learn the intricacies of the system function.

== History ==

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* {{cite book |author-last=Levine |author-first=John R. |author-link=John R. Levine |title=Linkers and Loaders |date=2000 |orig-year=October 1999 |edition=1 |publisher=[[Morgan Kaufmann]] |series=The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Software Engineering and Programming |___location=San Francisco, USA |isbn=1-55860-496-0 |oclc=42413382 |chapter=Chapter 9: Shared Libraries & Chapter 10: Dynamic Linking and Loading |url=https://www.iecc.com/linker/ |access-date=2020-01-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205032107/http://www.iecc.com/linker/ |archive-date=2012-12-05}} Code: [https://archive.today/20200114225034/https://linker.iecc.com/code.html][ftp://ftp.iecc.com/pub/linker/]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Errata: [https://linker.iecc.com/<!-- https://archive.today/20200114224817/https://linker.iecc.com/ 2020-01-14 -->]

* Article ''[http://www.lurklurk.org/linkers/linkers.html Beginner's Guide to Linkers]'' by David Drysdale

* Article ''[httphttps://objprelink.sourceforge.net/objprelink.html Faster C++ program startups by improving runtime linking efficiency]'' by Léon Bottou and John Ryland

* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060628062553/http://www.enderunix.org/simsek/articles/libraries.pdf How to Create Program Libraries]}} by Baris Simsek

* [https://sourceware.org/binutils/docs-2.30/bfd/index.html BFD] - the Binary File Descriptor Library