TN033: DLL Version of MFC

Artikel
08/06/2021

This note describes how you can use the MFCxx.DLL and MFCxxD.DLL (where xx is the MFC version number) shared dynamic link libraries with MFC applications and MFC extension DLLs. For more information about regular MFC DLLs, see Using MFC as Part of a DLL.

This technical note covers three aspects of DLLs. The last two are for the more advanced users:

How you build an MFC extension DLL
How you build an MFC application that uses the DLL version of MFC
How the MFC shared dynamic-link libraries are implemented

If you're interested in building a DLL using MFC that can be used with non-MFC applications (known as a regular MFC DLL), refer to Technical Note 11.

Overview of MFCxx.DLL Support: Terminology and Files

Regular MFC DLL: You use a regular MFC DLL to build a stand-alone DLL using some of the MFC classes. Interfaces across the App/DLL boundary are "C" interfaces, and the client application doesn't have to be an MFC application.

Regular MFC DLLs are the version of DLLs supported in MFC 1.0. They're described in Technical Note 11 and the MFC Advanced Concepts sample DLLScreenCap.

Note

As of Visual C++ version 4.0, the term USRDLL is obsolete and has been replaced by a regular MFC DLL that statically links to MFC. You may also build a regular MFC DLL that dynamically links to MFC.

MFC 3.0 (and above) supports regular MFC DLLs with all the new functionality including the OLE and Database classes.

AFXDLL: Also referred to as the shared version of the MFC libraries. It's the new DLL support added in MFC 2.0. The MFC library itself is in a number of DLLs (described below). A client application or DLL dynamically links the DLLs that it requires. Interfaces across the application/DLL boundary are C++/MFC class interfaces. The client application MUST be an MFC application. This DLL supports all MFC 3.0 functionality (exception: UNICODE isn't supported for the database classes).

Note

As of Visual C++ version 4.0, this type of DLL is referred to as an "Extension DLL."

This note will use MFCxx.DLL to refer to the entire MFC DLL set, which includes:

Debug: MFCxxD.DLL (combined) and MFCSxxD.LIB (static).
Release: MFCxx.DLL (combined) and MFCSxx.LIB (static).
Unicode Debug: MFCxxUD.DLL (combined) and MFCSxxD.LIB (static).
Unicode Release: MFCxxU.DLL (combined) and MFCSxxU.LIB (static).

Note

The MFCSxx[U][D].LIB libraries are used in conjunction with the MFC shared DLLs. These libraries contain code that must be statically linked to the application or DLL.

An application links to the corresponding import libraries:

Debug: MFCxxD.LIB
Release: MFCxx.LIB
Unicode Debug: MFCxxUD.LIB
Unicode Release: MFCxxU.LIB

An MFC extension DLL is a DLL that extends MFCxx.DLL (or the other MFC shared DLLs). Here, the MFC component architecture kicks in. If you derive a useful class from an MFC class, or build another MFC-like toolkit, you can place it in a DLL. Your DLL uses MFCxx.DLL, as does the ultimate client application. An MFC extension DLL permits reusable leaf classes, reusable base classes, and reusable view and document classes.

Pros and Cons

Why should you use the shared version of MFC

Using the shared library can result in smaller applications. (A minimal application that uses most of the MFC library is less than 10K).
The shared version of MFC supports MFC extension DLLs and regular MFC DLLs.
It's faster to build an application that uses the shared MFC libraries than a statically linked MFC application. That's because it isn't necessary to link MFC itself. It's especially true in DEBUG builds where the linker must compact the debug information. When your application gets linked to a DLL that already contains the debug information, there's less debug information to compact.

Why should you not use the shared version of MFC:

Shipping an application that uses the shared library requires that you ship MFCxx.DLL and other libraries with your program. MFCxx.DLL is freely redistributable like many DLLs, but you still must install the DLL in your SETUP program. Also, you'll have to ship the other redistributable libraries used both by your program and the MFC DLLs themselves.

How to Write an MFC extension DLL

An MFC extension DLL is a DLL that contains classes and functions to expand the functionality of the MFC classes. An MFC extension DLL uses the shared MFC DLLs in the same way an application uses them, with a few additional considerations:

The build process is similar to building an application that uses the shared MFC libraries with a few additional compiler and linker options.
An MFC extension DLL doesn't have a CWinApp-derived class.
An MFC extension DLL must provide a special DllMain. AppWizard supplies a DllMain function that you can modify.
An MFC extension DLL normally provides an initialization routine to create a CDynLinkLibrary, if the MFC extension DLL exports CRuntimeClass types or resources to the application. A derived class of CDynLinkLibrary may be used if per-application data must be maintained by the MFC extension DLL.

These considerations are described in more detail below. Also refer to the MFC Advanced Concepts sample DLLHUSK. It shows how to:

Build an application using the shared libraries. (DLLHUSK.EXE is an MFC application that dynamically links to the MFC libraries and other DLLs.)
Build an MFC extension DLL. (It shows how special flags such as _AFXEXT get used when building an MFC extension DLL.)
Build two examples of MFC extension DLLs. One shows the basic structure of an MFC extension DLL with limited exports (TESTDLL1) and the other shows exporting an entire class interface (TESTDLL2).

Both the client application and any MFC extension DLLs must use the same version of MFCxx.DLL. Follow the conventions of the MFC DLLs and provide both a debug and release (/release) version of your MFC extension DLL. This practice permits client programs to build both debug and release versions of their applications and link them with the appropriate debug or release version of all DLLs.

Note

Because C++ name mangling and export issues, the export list from an MFC extension DLL may be different between the debug and release versions of the same DLL and DLLs for different platforms. The release MFCxx.DLL has about 2000 exported entry points; the debug MFCxxD.DLL has about 3000 exported entry points.

Quick Note on Memory Management

The section titled "Memory Management," near the end of this technical note, describes the implementation of the MFCxx.DLL with the shared version of MFC. The information you need to know to implement just an MFC extension DLL is described here.

MFCxx.DLL and all MFC extension DLLs loaded into a client application's address space will use the same memory allocator, resource loading, and other MFC "global" states as if they were in the same application. It's significant because the non-MFC DLL libraries and regular MFC DLLs that statically link to MFC do the exact opposite: each DLL allocates out of its own memory pool.

If an MFC extension DLL allocates memory, then that memory can freely intermix with any other application-allocated object. Also, if an application that uses the shared MFC libraries crashes, the operating system maintains the integrity of any other MFC application that shares the DLL.

Similarly, other "global" MFC states such as the current executable file to load resources from, also get shared between the client application, all MFC extension DLLs, and MFCxx.DLL itself.

Building an MFC extension DLL

You can use AppWizard to create an MFC extension DLL project, and it automatically generates the appropriate compiler and linker settings. It also generates a DllMain function that you can modify.

If you're converting an existing project to an MFC extension DLL, start with the standard settings that build by using the shared version of MFC. Then make the following changes:

Add /D_AFXEXT to the compiler flags. On the Project Properties dialog, select the C/C++ > Preprocessor category. Add _AFXEXT to the Define Macros field, separating each of the items with semicolons.
Remove the /Gy compiler switch. On the Project Properties dialog, select the C/C++ > Code Generation category. Make sure the Enable Function-Level Linking property is not enabled. This setting makes it easier to export classes, because the linker won't remove unreferenced functions. If the original project built a regular MFC DLL that's statically linked to MFC, change the /MT (or /MTd) compiler option to /MD (or /MDd).
Build an export library with the /DLL option to LINK. This option gets set when you create a new target and specify Win32 Dynamic-Link Library as the target type.

Changing your Header Files

The usual goal of an MFC extension DLL is to export some common functionality to one or more applications that can use that functionality. Essentially, the DLL exports classes and global functions for use by your client applications.

To ensure that each member function gets marked for import or export as appropriate, use the special declarations __declspec(dllexport) and __declspec(dllimport). When client applications use your classes, you want them to be declared as __declspec(dllimport). When the MFC extension DLL itself gets built, the functions should be declared as __declspec(dllexport). The built DLL must also export the functions, so that the client programs can bind to them at load time.

To export your entire class, use AFX_EXT_CLASS in the class definition. The framework defines this macro as __declspec(dllexport) when _AFXDLL and _AFXEXT is defined, but defines it as __declspec(dllimport) when _AFXEXT isn't defined. _AFXEXT is only defined when building your MFC extension DLL. For example:

class AFX_EXT_CLASS CExampleExport : public CObject
{ /* ... class definition ... */ };

Not Exporting the Entire Class

Sometimes you may want to export just the individual necessary members of your class. For example, if you export a CDialog-derived class, you might only need to export the constructor and the DoModal call. You can export these members using the DLL's DEF file, but you can also use AFX_EXT_CLASS in much the same way on the individual members you need to export.

For example:

class CExampleDialog : public CDialog
{
public:
    AFX_EXT_CLASS CExampleDialog();
    AFX_EXT_CLASS int DoModal();
    // rest of class definition
    // ...
};

When you do, you may run into an additional problem because you don't export all members of the class. The problem is in the way that MFC macros work. Several of MFC's helper macros actually declare or define data members. Your DLL needs to export these data members, too.

For example, the DECLARE_DYNAMIC macro is defined as follows when building an MFC extension DLL:

#define DECLARE_DYNAMIC(class_name) \
protected: \
    static CRuntimeClass* PASCAL _GetBaseClass(); \
    public: \
    static AFX_DATA CRuntimeClass class##class_name; \
    virtual CRuntimeClass* GetRuntimeClass() const; \

The line that begins static AFX_DATA declares a static object inside your class. To export this class correctly and access the runtime information from a client EXE, you need to export this static object. Because the static object is declared with the modifier AFX_DATA, you only need to define AFX_DATA as __declspec(dllexport) when you build your DLL. Define it as __declspec(dllimport) when you build your client executable.

As discussed above, AFX_EXT_CLASS is already defined in this way. You just need to redefine AFX_DATA to be the same as AFX_EXT_CLASS around your class definition.

For example:

#undef  AFX_DATA
#define AFX_DATA AFX_EXT_CLASS
class CExampleView : public CView
{
    DECLARE_DYNAMIC()
    // ... class definition ...
};
#undef  AFX_DATA
#define AFX_DATA

MFC always uses the AFX_DATA symbol on data items it defines within its macros, so this technique will work for all such scenarios. For example, it will work for DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP.

Note

If you are exporting the entire class rather than selected members of the class, static data members are automatically exported.

You can use the same technique to automatically export the CArchive extraction operator for classes that use the DECLARE_SERIAL and IMPLEMENT_SERIAL macros. Export the archive operator by bracketing the class declarations (located in the header file) with the following code:

#undef AFX_API
#define AFX_API AFX_EXT_CLASS

/* your class declarations here */

#undef AFX_API
#define AFX_API

Limitations of _AFXEXT

You can use the _AFXEXT pre-processor symbol for your MFC extension DLLs as long as you don't have multiple layers of MFC extension DLLs. If you have MFC extension DLLs that call or derive from classes in your own MFC extension DLLs, which then derive from the MFC classes, you must use your own preprocessor symbol to avoid ambiguity.

The problem is that in Win32, you must explicitly declare any data as __declspec(dllexport) to export it from a DLL, and __declspec(dllimport) to import it from a DLL. When you define _AFXEXT, the MFC headers make sure that AFX_EXT_CLASS is defined correctly.

When you have multiple layers, one symbol such as AFX_EXT_CLASS isn't sufficient: An MFC extension DLL may export its own classes, and also import other classes from another MFC extension DLL. To deal with this problem, use a special preprocessor symbol that indicates that you're building the DLL itself, instead of using the DLL. For example, imagine two MFC extension DLLs, A.DLL, and B.DLL. They each export some classes in A.H and B.H, respectively. B.DLL uses the classes from A.DLL. The header files would look something like this:

/* A.H */
#ifdef A_IMPL
    #define CLASS_DECL_A   __declspec(dllexport)
#else
    #define CLASS_DECL_A   __declspec(dllimport)
#endif

class CLASS_DECL_A CExampleA : public CObject
{ /* ... class definition ... */ };

/* B.H */
#ifdef B_IMPL
    #define CLASS_DECL_B   __declspec(dllexport)
#else
    #define CLASS_DECL_B   __declspec(dllimport)
#endif

class CLASS_DECL_B CExampleB : public CExampleA
{ /* ... class definition ... */ };

When A.DLL is built, it's built with /DA_IMPL and when B.DLL is built, it's built with /DB_IMPL. By using separate symbols for each DLL, CExampleB is exported and CExampleA is imported when building B.DLL. CExampleA is exported when building A.DLL and imported when used by B.DLL or some other client.

This type of layering can't be done when using the built-in AFX_EXT_CLASS and _AFXEXT preprocessor symbols. The technique described above solves this problem in the same way MFC does. MFC uses this technique when building its OLE, Database, and Network MFC extension DLLs.

Still Not Exporting the Entire Class

Again, you'll have to take special care when you aren't exporting an entire class. Ensure that the necessary data items created by the MFC macros are exported correctly. You can do it by redefining AFX_DATA to your specific class' macro. Redefine it whenever you're not exporting the entire class.

For example:

// A.H
#ifdef A_IMPL
    #define CLASS_DECL_A  _declspec(dllexport)
#else
    #define CLASS_DECL_A  _declspec(dllimport)
#endif

#undef  AFX_DATA
#define AFX_DATA CLASS_DECL_A

class CExampleA : public CObject
{
    DECLARE_DYNAMIC()
    CLASS_DECL_A int SomeFunction();
    // class definition
    // ...
};

#undef AFX_DATA
#define AFX_DATA

DllMain

Here's the code you should place in your main source file for your MFC extension DLL. It should come after the standard includes. When you use AppWizard to create starter files for an MFC extension DLL, it supplies a DllMain for you.

#include "afxdllx.h"

static AFX_EXTENSION_MODULE extensionDLL;

extern "C" int APIENTRY
DllMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, DWORD dwReason, LPVOID)
{
   if (dwReason == DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH)
   {
      // MFC extension DLL one-time initialization
      if (!AfxInitExtensionModule(
             extensionDLL, hInstance))
         return 0;

      // TODO: perform other initialization tasks here
   }
   else if (dwReason == DLL_PROCESS_DETACH)
   {
      // MFC extension DLL per-process termination
      AfxTermExtensionModule(extensionDLL);

      // TODO: perform other cleanup tasks here
   }
   return 1;   // ok
}

The call to AfxInitExtensionModule captures the module's runtime-classes (CRuntimeClass structures) and its object factories (COleObjectFactory objects) for use later when the CDynLinkLibrary object is created. The (optional) call to AfxTermExtensionModule allows MFC to clean up the MFC extension DLL when each process detaches (which happens when the process exits, or when the DLL gets unloaded by a FreeLibrary call) from the MFC extension DLL. Since most MFC extension DLLs aren't dynamically loaded (normally, they're linked via their import libraries), the call to AfxTermExtensionModule usually isn't necessary.

If your application loads and frees MFC extension DLLs dynamically, be sure to call AfxTermExtensionModule as shown above. Also be sure to use AfxLoadLibrary and AfxFreeLibrary (instead of Win32 functions LoadLibrary and FreeLibrary) if your application uses multiple threads or if it dynamically loads an MFC extension DLL. Using AfxLoadLibrary and AfxFreeLibrary insures that the startup and shutdown code that executes when the MFC extension DLL is loaded and unloaded doesn't corrupt the global MFC state.

The header file AFXDLLX.H contains special definitions for structures used in MFC extension DLLs, such as the definition for AFX_EXTENSION_MODULE and CDynLinkLibrary.

The global extensionDLL must be declared as shown. Unlike the 16-bit version of MFC, you can allocate memory and call MFC functions during this time, since the MFCxx.DLL is fully initialized by the time your DllMain is called.

Simple MFC extension DLLs need only export a few low-bandwidth functions to the client application and nothing more. More user-interface intensive DLLs may want to export resources and C++ classes to the client application.

Exporting resources is done through a resource list. In each application is a singly linked list of CDynLinkLibrary objects. When looking for a resource, most of the standard MFC implementations that load resources look first at the current resource module (AfxGetResourceHandle) and if not found walk the list of CDynLinkLibrary objects attempting to load the requested resource.

Dynamic creation of C++ objects given a C++ class name is similar. The MFC object deserialization mechanism needs to have all of the CRuntimeClass objects registered so that it can reconstruct by dynamically creating C++ object of the required type based on what was stored earlier.

If you want the client application to use classes in your MFC extension DLL that are DECLARE_SERIAL, then you'll need to export your classes to make them visible to the client application. It's also done by walking the CDynLinkLibrary list.

In the MFC Advanced Concepts sample DLLHUSK, the list looks something like:

head ->   DLLHUSK.EXE   - or - DLLHUSK.EXE
               |                    |
          TESTDLL2.DLL         TESTDLL2.DLL
               |                    |
          TESTDLL1.DLL         TESTDLL1.DLL
               |                    |
               |                    |
           MFC90D.DLL           MFC90.DLL

The MFCxx.DLL entry usually comes last on the resource and class list. MFCxx.DLL includes all of the standard MFC resources, including prompt strings for all the standard command IDs. Placing it at the end of the list allows both DLLs and the client application itself to rely on the shared resources in the MFCxx.DLL, instead of having their own copies.

Merging the resources and class names of all DLLs into the client application's name space has the disadvantage that you have to be careful what IDs or names you pick. You can disable this feature by not exporting either your resources or a CDynLinkLibrary object to the client application. The DLLHUSK sample manages the shared resource name space by using multiple header files. See Technical Note 35 for more tips on using shared resource files.

Initializing the DLL

As mentioned above, you'll usually want to create a CDynLinkLibrary object to export your resources and classes to the client application. You'll need to provide an exported entry point to initialize the DLL. Minimally, it's a void routine that takes no arguments and returns nothing, but it can be anything you like.

Each client application that wants to use your DLL must call this initialization routine, if you use this approach. You may also allocate this CDynLinkLibrary object in your DllMain just after you call AfxInitExtensionModule.

The initialization routine must create a CDynLinkLibrary object in the current application's heap, wired up to your MFC extension DLL information. You can do it by defining a function like this one:

extern "C" extern void WINAPI InitXxxDLL()
{
    new CDynLinkLibrary(extensionDLL);
}

The routine name, InitXxxDLL in this example, can be anything you want. It doesn't need to be extern "C", but it makes the export list easier to maintain.

Note

If you use your MFC extension DLL from a regular MFC DLL, you must export this initialization function. This function must be called from the regular MFC DLL before using any MFC extension DLL classes or resources.

Exporting Entries

The simple way to export your classes is to use __declspec(dllimport) and __declspec(dllexport) on each class and global function you wish to export. It's a lot easier, but it's less efficient than naming each entry point in a DEF file as described below. That's because you have less control over what functions are exported. And, you can't export the functions by ordinal. TESTDLL1 and TESTDLL2 use this method to export their entries.

A more efficient method is to export each entry by naming it in the DEF file. This method is used by MFCxx.DLL. Since we're exporting selectively from our DLL, we must decide which particular interfaces we wish to export. It's difficult, since you must specify the mangled names to the linker in the form of entries in the DEF file. Don't export any C++ class unless you really need to have a symbolic link for it.

If you've tried exporting C++ classes with a DEF file before, you may want to develop a tool to generate this list automatically. It can be done by using a two-stage link process. Link your DLL once with no exports, and allow the linker to generate a MAP file. The MAP file contains a list of functions that should be exported. With some rearranging, you can use it to generate the EXPORT entries for your DEF file. The export list for MFCxx.DLL and the OLE and Database MFC extension DLLs, several thousand in number, was generated with such a process (although it's not fully automatic, and requires some hand tuning every once in a while).

CWinApp vs. CDynLinkLibrary

An MFC extension DLL doesn't have a CWinApp-derived object of its own. Instead, it must work with the CWinApp-derived object of the client application. It means that the client application owns the main message pump, the idle loop, and so on.

If your MFC extension DLL needs to maintain extra data for each application, you can derive a new class from CDynLinkLibrary and create it in the InitXxxDLL routine describe above. When running, the DLL can check the current application's list of CDynLinkLibrary objects to find the one for that particular MFC extension DLL.

Using Resources in Your DLL Implementation

As mentioned above, the default resource load will walk the list of CDynLinkLibrary objects looking for the first EXE or DLL that has the requested resource. All MFC APIs and all the internal code uses AfxFindResourceHandle to walk the resource list to find any resource, no matter where it's located.

If you wish to only load resources from a specific place, use the APIs AfxGetResourceHandle and AfxSetResourceHandle to save the old handle and set the new handle. Be sure to restore the old resource handle before you return to the client application. The sample TESTDLL2 uses this approach for explicitly loading a menu.

Walking the list has some disadvantages: it's slightly slower, and requires managing resource ID ranges. It has the advantage that a client application that links to several MFC extension DLLs can use any DLL-provided resource without having to specify the DLL instance handle. AfxFindResourceHandle is an API used for walking the resource list to look for a given match. It takes the name and type of a resource, and it returns the resource handle where it first finds the resource, or NULL.

Writing an Application That Uses the DLL Version

Application Requirements

An application that uses the shared version of MFC must follow a few basic rules:

It must have a CWinApp object and follow the standard rules for a message pump.
It must be compiled with a set of required compiler flags (see below).
It must link with the MFCxx import libraries. By setting the required compiler flags, the MFC headers determine at link time which library the application should link with.
To run the executable, MFCxx.DLL must be on the path or in the Windows system directory.

Building with the Development Environment

If you're using the internal makefile with most of the standard defaults, you can easily change the project to build the DLL version.

The following step assumes you have a correctly functioning MFC application linked with NAFXCWD.LIB (for debug) and NAFXCW.LIB (for release) and you want to convert it to use the shared version of the MFC library. You're running the Visual Studio environment and have an internal project file.

On the Projects menu, select Properties. In the General page under Project Defaults, set Microsoft Foundation Classes to Use MFC in a Shared DLL (MFCxx(d).dll).

Building with NMAKE

If you're using the external makefile feature of the compiler, or are using NMAKE directly, you'll have to edit your makefile to support required compiler and linker options.

Required compiler flags:

/D_AFXDLL /MD /D_AFXDLL

The standard MFC headers need the _AFXDLL symbol to be defined.

/MD The application must use the DLL version of the C run-time library.

All other compiler flags follow the MFC defaults (for example, _DEBUG for debug).

Edit the linker list of libraries. Change NAFXCWD.LIB to MFCxxD.LIB and change NAFXCW.LIB to MFCxx.LIB. Replace LIBC.LIB with MSVCRT.LIB. As with any other MFC library, it's important that MFCxxD.LIB is placed before any C-runtime libraries.

Optionally add /D_AFXDLL to both your release and debug resource compiler options (the one that actually compiles the resources with /R). This option makes your final executable smaller by sharing the resources that are present in the MFC DLLs.

A full rebuild is required after these changes are made.

Building the Samples

Most of the MFC sample programs can be built from Visual C++ or from a shared NMAKE-compatible MAKEFILE from the command line.

To convert any of these samples to use MFCxx.DLL, you can load the MAK file into the Visual C++ and set the Project options as described above. If you're using the NMAKE build, you can specify AFXDLL=1 on the NMAKE command line and that will build the sample using the shared MFC libraries.

The MFC Advanced Concepts sample DLLHUSK is built with the DLL version of MFC. This sample not only illustrates how to build an application linked with MFCxx.DLL, but it also illustrates other features of the MFC DLL packaging option such as MFC extension DLLs described later in this technical note.

Packaging Notes

The release versions of the DLLs (MFCxx.DLL and MFCxxU.DLL) are freely redistributable. The debug versions of the DLLs are not freely redistributable and should be used only during the development of your application.

The debug DLLs are provided with debugging information. By using the Visual C++ debugger, you can trace execution of both your application and the DLL. The Release DLLs (MFCxx.DLL and MFCxxU.DLL) don't contain debugging information.

If you customize or rebuild the DLLs, then you should call them something other than "MFCxx". The MFC SRC file MFCDLL.MAK describes build options and contains the logic for renaming the DLL. Renaming the files is necessary, since these DLLs are potentially shared by many MFC applications. Having your custom version of the MFC DLLs replace the ones installed on the system may break another MFC application using the shared MFC DLLs.

Rebuilding the MFC DLLs isn't recommended.

How the MFCxx.DLL Is Implemented

The following section describes how the MFC DLL (MFCxx.DLL and MFCxxD.DLL) is implemented. Understanding the details here are also not important if all you want to do is use the MFC DLL with your application. The details here aren't essential for understanding how to write an MFC extension DLL, but understanding this implementation may help you write your own DLL.

Implementation Overview

The MFC DLL is really a special case of an MFC extension DLL as described above. It has a large number of exports for a large number of classes. There are a few additional things we do in the MFC DLL that make it even more special than a regular MFC extension DLL.

Win32 Does Most of the Work

The 16-bit version of MFC needed a number of special techniques including per-app data on the stack segment, special segments created by some 80x86 assembly code, per-process exception contexts, and other techniques. Win32 directly supports per-process data in a DLL, which is what you want most of the time. For the most part MFCxx.DLL is just NAFXCW.LIB packaged in a DLL. If you look at the MFC source code, you'll find few #ifdef _AFXDLL cases, since there aren't many special cases that need to be made. The special cases that are there are specifically to deal with Win32 on Windows 3.1 (otherwise known as Win32s). Win32s doesn't support per-process DLL data directly. The MFC DLL must use the thread-local storage (TLS) Win32 APIs to obtain process local data.

Impact on Library Sources, Additional Files

The impact of the _AFXDLL version on the normal MFC class library sources and headers is relatively minor. There's a special version file (AFXV_DLL.H) and an additional header file (AFXDLL_.H) included by the main AFXWIN.H header. The AFXDLL_.H header includes the CDynLinkLibrary class and other implementation details of both _AFXDLL applications and MFC extension DLLs. The AFXDLLX.H header is provided for building MFC extension DLLs (see above for details).

The regular sources to the MFC library in MFC SRC have some additional conditional code under the _AFXDLL #ifdef. An additional source file (DLLINIT.CPP) contains the extra DLL initialization code and other glue for the shared version of MFC.

In order to build the shared version of MFC, additional files are provided. (See below for details on how to build the DLL.)

Two DEF files are used for exporting the MFC DLL entry points for debug (MFCxxD.DEF) and release (MFCxx.DEF) versions of the DLL.
An RC file (MFCDLL.RC) contains all the standard MFC resources and a VERSIONINFO resource for the DLL.
A CLW file (MFCDLL.CLW) is provided to allow browsing the MFC classes using ClassWizard. This feature isn't particular to the DLL version of MFC.

Memory Management

An application using MFCxx.DLL uses a common memory allocator provided by MSVCRTxx.DLL, the shared C-runtime DLL. The application, any MFC extension DLLs, and well as the MFC DLLs use this shared memory allocator. By using a shared DLL for memory allocation, the MFC DLLs can allocate memory that is later freed by the application or vice versa. Because both the application and the DLL must use the same allocator, you shouldn't override the C++ global operator new or operator delete. The same rules apply to the rest of the C run-time memory allocation routines (such as malloc, realloc, free, and others).

Ordinals and class __declspec(dllexport) and DLL naming

We don't use the class __declspec(dllexport) functionality of the C++ compiler. Instead, a list of exports is included with the class library sources (MFCxx.DEF and MFCxxD.DEF). Only a select set of entry points (functions and data) are exported. Other symbols, such as MFC private implementation functions or classes, aren't exported. All exports are done by ordinal without a string name in the resident or non-resident name table.

Using class __declspec(dllexport) may be a viable alternative for building smaller DLLs, but in a large DLL like MFC, the default exporting mechanism has efficiency and capacity limits.

What it all means is that we can package a large amount of functionality in the release MFCxx.DLL that's only around 800 KB without compromising much execution or loading speed. MFCxx.DLL would have been 100 KB larger had this technique not been used. The technique makes it possible to add additional entry points at the end of the DEF file. It allows simple versioning without compromising the speed and size efficiency of exporting by ordinal. Major version revisions in the MFC class library will change the library name. That is, MFC30.DLL is the redistributable DLL containing version 3.0 of the MFC class library. An upgrade of this DLL, say, in a hypothetical MFC 3.1, the DLL would be named MFC31.DLL instead. Again, if you modify the MFC source code to produce a custom version of the MFC DLL, use a different name (and preferably one without "MFC" in the name).

Delen via

TN033: DLL Version of MFC

Overview of MFCxx.DLL Support: Terminology and Files

Pros and Cons

How to Write an MFC extension DLL

Quick Note on Memory Management

Building an MFC extension DLL

Changing your Header Files

Not Exporting the Entire Class

Limitations of _AFXEXT

Still Not Exporting the Entire Class

DllMain

Initializing the DLL

Exporting Entries

CWinApp vs. CDynLinkLibrary

Using Resources in Your DLL Implementation

Writing an Application That Uses the DLL Version

Application Requirements

Building with the Development Environment

Building with NMAKE

Building the Samples

Packaging Notes

How the MFCxx.DLL Is Implemented

Implementation Overview

Win32 Does Most of the Work

Impact on Library Sources, Additional Files

Memory Management

Ordinals and class __declspec(dllexport) and DLL naming

See also

Feedback

Aanvullende resources

Delen via

TN033: DLL Version of MFC

Overview of MFCxx.DLL Support: Terminology and Files

Pros and Cons

How to Write an MFC extension DLL

Quick Note on Memory Management

Building an MFC extension DLL

Changing your Header Files

Not Exporting the Entire Class

Limitations of _AFXEXT

Still Not Exporting the Entire Class

DllMain

Sharing Resources and Classes

Initializing the DLL

Exporting Entries

CWinApp vs. CDynLinkLibrary

Using Resources in Your DLL Implementation

Writing an Application That Uses the DLL Version

Application Requirements

Building with the Development Environment

Building with NMAKE

Building the Samples

Packaging Notes

How the MFCxx.DLL Is Implemented

Implementation Overview

Win32 Does Most of the Work

Impact on Library Sources, Additional Files

Memory Management

Ordinals and class __declspec(dllexport) and DLL naming

See also

Feedback

Aanvullende resources