RE: PATCH: allow PE executables to have an export table

["Ralf Habacker" <Ralf dot Habacker at freenet dot de>]

> Ralf,
> The short answer...
> It is a "feature" that grew out of "old world" sales and marketing plans.
> It can be a technical convience in some cases, but that isn't where it came
> from.
>
> You write one "main (major)" application that one is priced very low or is
> a "give away".  It "appears" as a "static linked" application without any
> supporting, shared libraries that could be re-used.
>
> You write one or more "add-ons", extra cost, utility programs or an "enhanced"
> version of the program.
> Again, no shared library comes with this version.
> In addition, this version is not complete... It will not load and run by its
> self - you must have the "free-bee" also.
> It is the exports of the "free-bee" that are taking the place of a shared
> library.
>
> Yup - that is why systems that build these things have "import libraries".
> It is the "import library" that supplies the glue to make the exports of the
> first program usable as an external, shared library.
>
Thanks for this information.

Let me ask another question: Has anyone really tried to run an application
linked to an application under windows ?

Ralf