ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Dynamic-link library

Have you ever played with a bunch of building blocks? You might have noticed that sometimes you need certain pieces for different things. Imagine you have a big pile of blocks, and some of the blocks are special pieces that can do certain things or help you make things better. Those special blocks are like dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) on your computer.

In computer programs, there are certain pieces of code, like the building blocks, that can be used over and over. Instead of writing the same code over and over again, DLLs can be used to store that code, making it easier for programs to access it whenever they need it. Think of the DLLs like a bunch of special building blocks in a box.

When you run a program, it might need to use certain pieces of code or functions that are stored in a DLL. Instead of having all of that code in one big file, the program only uses the pieces it needs from the DLL. Imagine you're building a castle out of blocks and need a special, unique piece for one of the castle towers. Instead of buying a whole new set of blocks, you can just go to the special pieces box and find the one you need.

The DLLs are important because they help programs run more efficiently by only loading the necessary parts of code when they're needed. They're like a box of special blocks that programmers can use to quickly build their programs without starting from scratch each time.

So, DLLs are like special pieces of code that programs can access whenever they need them. They help programs run more efficiently by only using the necessary parts of code, like using the special building blocks you need to build only what you want to build.