What are Drivers & DLLs? [Byte Size] | Nostalgia Nerd

Today we're taking a high level look at Virtual Drivers and Dynamic Link Libraries; commonplace on operating systems since the early 80s, allowing for flexibility, increased memory, competition in the hardware industry and of course, problems and system crashes. Operating systems using these features include DOS, Windows and IBM's OS/2... Marvelous! :D

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[lurkerrekrul]

Practical explanation for the average computer user;

Drivers are the bits of software you need to make your new device work, but which usually either aren't available for your particular version of the OS or there will be three different versions with no explanation as to which one you should use. Drivers are also apparently the magical fix for any and all game problems you might be having, since every single game company on the planet will tell you to "Update your drivers." in response to any issues you might be having with their software.

DLLs are the support files that freeware programs always complain are missing from your system.

Hope this helps. :)

[donnierussellii]

Sound drivers were eventually moved out of the Windows kernel, fixing a lot of common BSODs. Earlier PCs didn't have the power to stream continuous audio, resulting in stuttering. Another change was Windows keeping an old version of a DLL around for programs that needed it, instead of overwriting it with a new version. In theory a newer DLL wouldn't break the program, but it often did. Windows install size consists of a large percentage of these DLLs.

[awilfox]

As a low-level programmer on a few Unix-likes (have written kernel code for FreeBSD, and fixed up graphics drivers AND the dynamic linker on Linux)... wow! This may be the first video I've seen on YouTube that explains this accurately, succinctly, and in a way that almost anyone with computing experience should be able to understand. Cheers.

[bigoddo]

this is super useful to me because in the last 2 months DLLs have become much more known in my life so its nice to have it explained so well! thank you!

[arvizturotukorfurogep]

Thanks for giving me minor heart-attacks with the sudden blue screens of death.

[talideon]

It would be more accurate to say that the dynamic linker kicks in when the program starts up rather than when the functions within it are called. The only time that libraries are dynamically linked on the fly is as part of, say, a plugin system.

[xereeto]

is your background image at 0:57 the windows CEMeNT thing?

[talideon]

Also, with containers, the idea of statically linking a binary is suddenly fashionable again as it simplifies container deployment. That, however, is something most people who don't work with servers don't need to really know about.

[Jikyuu]

Awesome video, very informative ... even if the sudden jump scares (blue screens) scared the crap out of me because I watch it in full screen lol

[Lofote]

WDDM did not allow closer integration with hardware, but were rather made to be compatible to future WIndows versions incl. the NT line starting with Windows 2000.

[purpleandgold]

DLL's have been and sometimes still my biggest beef with PCs. I now know the reason, they're being replaced and that's why most of my older programs are stuffed, also just one many reasons I don't like online direct installs without disks.

[quenjankosky]

This was a good explanation, explaining libraries on unix and windows systems is hard to do, as well as being a pain.

[darkestknightishere]

Thanks for uploading this video, it was very helpful, can you please remove background sound please.

[agentgreenland]

thank you for this vid! As an IT professional, I had no idea excactly what dll files were until now! xD

[SigurdKristvik]

Drivers & DLL also known as /dev, /sys(/System) and /lib (/Library) in systems like Ubuntu Linux and OSX

[teviathon]

Yeah, DLL's have always been my bane. Install a previous version just to get your software to function. Remember this kids, newer is not always better.

[DankRedditMemes]

on a similar note can we get .COM vs DOS .EXEs?

[brandonevans]

for dll and driver files were they compiled or scripts?

in other way can u open the file and edit them

[clemstevenson]

Computers are a need-to-know thing for me...It's not, and never has been, a paid job, so I only need to know how these things work when the computer goes wrong. But, of course, there have been problems with missing dynamic link files, where I've had to patch in new copies from on line sources. In the past I have used brute force (inelegant) repair methods for software problems, commonly called 'Format C:'

[robertclark]

The Amiga had link libraries that were required to be re-entrant, a technical capability the Windows DLL didn't emulate. I don't miss 'DLL Hell'.