Is there a better way to load a dll in C++?

Question

Right now I do something like this and it seems messy if I end having a lot of functions I want to reference in my DLL. Is there a better and cleaner way of accessing the fu

Answer 1

Why don't you get VS to generate a shim static library around your DLL. That way all you have to do is add a calling convention in the header file and add a couple of pre-procesor directives. The easiest way to figure out how to do it is to create a new DLL project (Visual C++>Win32 Project, Choose DLL Project, check Import symbols)

Use the main header file as an example on how to decorate your classes with the import/export calling convention. This head is the important bit as it explains how to use the functions and classes declared there:

// The following ifdef block is the standard way of creating macros which make exporting 
// from a DLL simpler. All files within this DLL are compiled with the DLLTEST2_EXPORTS
// symbol defined on the command line. this symbol should not be defined on any project
// that uses this DLL. This way any other project whose source files include this file see 
// DLLTEST2_API functions as being imported from a DLL, whereas this DLL sees symbols
// defined with this macro as being exported.

#ifdef DLLTEST2_EXPORTS
#define DLLTEST2_API __declspec(dllexport)
#else
#define DLLTEST2_API __declspec(dllimport)
#endif

// This class is exported from the dlltest2.dll
class DLLTEST2_API Cdlltest2 {
public:
    Cdlltest2(void);
    // TODO: add your methods here.
};

extern DLLTEST2_API int ndlltest2;

DLLTEST2_API int fndlltest2(void);

Then, in the project that uses that DLL simply include the header file and .lib that the DLL project generated. That way it automatically loads the DLL and you can use all the functions as though statically linked.