How is the C++ standard library linked to my application?

Question

When I usually use code (include headers) from 3rd party (non-standard) C++ libraries, a pre-built binary file is linked to (or included in) the target executable that repre

Answer 1

The only basic run-time dependancy for MinGW C++ programs is on MSVCRT.DLL. Other dependancies will depend on what your program actually does - for example, if it uses ODBC database connectivity, it will depend on ODBC32.DLL (and probably some other Windows DLLs). However, using classes like std::string or std::vector in a MinGW C++ program will not introduce new dynamic library dependancies.

If you are worried about dynamic library dependancies, check out the tool "Dependency Walker" at http://www.dependencywalker.com/