the other day, i have download a program in here --So Real Surreal Boogy Buggy --John Shedletsky, August 2002 ( i am studying the ode(Open Dynamics Engine) ). the program build in msvc,only include a ode.lib file,i meaning,it didn''t include the ode.dll file(also in my system dir),i have build it succeed and run it very good. the problem is why it didn''t need dll file. i also download the jon horn''s program, it build in delphi and include the ode.dll file. so i am at a loss. my english is poor

dlls don''t become a part of the exe, they stay seperate files. The lib you linked tells the exe how to interface with the dll. So it probably IS using the dll. Try deleting the dll and see if it still works.

It''s not dll or lib, it''s lib with all the stuff in or dll with all the stuff in and lib with the interface in.

Another possibility is that the lib has all the code in and is not just an interface - hence it wouldn''t need the dll. The lib and dll could be 2 different builds, but more likely its what I describe above.