C Run-Time library part 2
- by b-gen-jack-o-neill
Hi, I was suggested when I have some further questions on my older ones, to create newer Question and reffer to old one. So, this is the original question: What is the C runtime library?
OK, from your answers, I now get thet statically linked libraries are Microsoft implementation of C standart functions. Now:
If I get it right, the scheme would be as follow: I want to use printf(), so I must include which just tels compiler there us functio printf() with these parameters. Now, when I compile code, becouse printf() is defined in C Standart Library, and becouse Microsoft decided to name it C Run Time library, it gets automatically statically linked from libcmt.lib (if libcmt.lib is set in compiler) at compile time. I ask, becouse on wikipedia, in article about runtime library there is that runtime library is linked in runtime, but .lib files are linked at compile time, am I right?
Now, what confuses me. There is .dll version of C standart library. But I thought that to link .dll file, you must actually call winapi program to load that library. So, how can be these functions dynamically linked, if there is no static library to provide code to tell Windows to load desired functions from dll?
And really last question on this subject - are C Standart library functions also calls to winapi even they are not .dll files like more advanced WinAPI functions? I mean, in the end to access framebuffer and print something you must tell Windows to do it, since OS cannot let you directly manipulate HW. I think of it like the OS must be written to support all C standart library functions same way across similiar versions, since they are statically linked, and can differently support more complex WinAPI calls becouse new version of OS can have adjustements in the .dll file.
