How to “add reference” in C++

Question

I\'m new to C++ and there\'s something I just completely don\'t get. In C#, if I want to use an external library, log4net for example, I just add a reference to the log4net DLL

Answer 1

Often, the library comes with 1) a header file (.h) and 2) a .lib file in addition to the .dll.

The header file is #include'ed in your code, to give you access to the type and function declarations in the library.

The .lib is linked into your application (project properties -> linker -> input, additional dependencies).

The .lib file usually contains simple stubs that automatically load the dll and forward function calls to it.

If you don't have a .lib file, you'll instead have to use the LoadLibrary function to dynamically load the DLL.