Shared object file Linux

A shared object file holds code and data suitable for linking in two contexts. First, the link editor may process it with other relocatable and shared object files to create another object file . Second, the dynamic linker combines it with an executable file and other shared objects to create a process image.

Static libraries take longer to execute, because loading into the memory happens every time while executing. While Shared libraries are faster because shared library code is already in the memory .

Shared libraries (also called dynamic libraries) are linked into the program in two stages. First, during compile time, the linker verifies that all the symbols (again, functions, variables and the like) required by the program, are either linked into the program, or in one of its shared libraries.

Shared Object: A library that is automatically linked into a program when the program starts, and exists as a standalone file . The library is included in the linking list at compile time (ie: LDOPTS+=-lmylib for a library file named mylib.so ).