Difference between an EXE and a DLL in Dotnet

Question

What is the difference between an EXE and a DLL in Dotnet

Sam Hobbs · Answer

Do you understand the difference between an EXE and a DLL, whether .Net or not? I think that is the first topic to understand. In .Net an exe is called an application and a DLL is called a Class Library. That is the difference in the context of .Net. Not all DLLs are Class Libraries; for example, kernel32.dll and user32.dll definitely are not Class Libraries.

Rajanikant Hawaldar · Answer

https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/blogs/difference-between-dll-and-exe

Sangeetha S · Answer

EXE (Executable) DLL (Dynamic Link Library) Full Form Executable File Dynamic Link Library Purpose Used to launch and run an application Contains code and data used by multiple programs Entry Point Has a main() or WinMain() function as an entry point Does not have a main entry point; cannot run on its own Execution Can be executed directly by the operating system Cannot be executed directly; must be called by an EXE or another DLL Usage Standalone application Shared library used by applications to reuse code Memory Usage Loaded into memory when the application starts Loaded into memory only when needed (dynamic loading) Examples notepad.exe , chrome.exe kernel32.dll , user32.dll Modularity Typically contains the whole application Promotes modularity and code reuse across applications

Difference between an EXE and a DLL in Dotnet

Answers (3)