In computing, DLL Hell is a term for the complications that arise when working with dynamic link libraries (DLLs) used with Microsoft Windows operating systems, particularly legacy 16-bit editions which all run in a single memory space. While the phrase is Windows-specific and a derivation of the general cross-platform phrase "dependency hell", the rhyme "DLL hell" makes its use popular for discussing a general Windows-related dependency hell case.
DLL Hell can manifest itself in many different ways; typically applications do not launch or work correctly. Applications on modern versions of Windows suffer less from this issue following the introduction of the .NET Framework, registry-free COM and features in the operating system that prevent system files from being overwritten.
Famous quotes containing the word hell:
“O my dear Candide! You knew Paquette, that pretty attendant of our august baroness; I tasted in her arms the delights of paradise, which produced these torments of hell by which you see me devoured; she was infected and may have died of it.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)