DLL Hell

In computing, DLL hell is a term for the complications that arise when one works with dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) used with Microsoft Windows operating systems,[1] particularly legacy 16-bit editions, which all run in a single memory space.

DLL hell can manifest itself in many different ways wherein applications neither launch nor work correctly.

DLL hell is the Windows ecosystem-specific form of the general concept dependency hell.

  1. ^ "Avoiding DLL Hell: Introducing Application Metadata in the Microsoft .NET Framework". Microsoft. October 2000.