Note - real response, the previous time I accidently hit return. Georg Gast wrote:

Hi!

Currently i'm trying to understand serialization via base pointer in a dll. My environment: - Windows XP SP3 - MS Visual Studio 2010 Prof (German) - Boost: 1.45.0

To try that i created 2 projects in one solution: test.exe (like test_dll_plugin) and test_plugin.dll (like dll_polymorphic_derivied2). Copied these files from boost/libs/serialization/(test|examples).

Files in test.exe project (console app): - polymorphic_base.hpp - test_tools.hpp - text_archives.hpp

Files in test_plugin.dll (standard win32 dll): - polymorphic_base.hpp - test_dll_plugin.cpp - polymorphic_derived2.cpp

shared files: - test_decl.hpp - polymorphic_base.hpp

Then i tried to copy the project settings to know the exact required settings:

test.exe: --------- Preprozessor: WIN32;(_DEBUG|NDEBUG);_CONSOLE;BOOST_LIB_DIAGNOSTIC=1;BOOST_ALL_DYN_LINK=1

C++: Checking of small types: Yes /RTCc Funktionlevel-Linking aktiv: No /Gy- Run time type info: yes / GR systeminternal functions active: yes /Oi Runtime Library: Multithreaded(-Debug)-DLL (/MD|/MDd)

test.dll: --------- Preprozessor: WIN32;(_DEBUG|NDEBUG);BOOST_ALL_DYN_LINK=1;BOOST_LIB_DIAGNOSTIC=1;_WINDOWS;_USRDLL;PLUGINDLL_EXPORTS

C++: minimal recompilation: No /Gm- complete runtimechecking (Vollständige Laufzeitüberprüfung): Standard Run time type info: yes / GR Runtime Library: Multithreaded(-Debug)-DLL (/MD|/MDd)

Now my questions:

First Question: Are the above mentioned project settings for the exe and the dll really right and complete? Or is something not needed or missing?

They are as far as I know. I tested with them. Did this not work for you? If not, what happened? Note that you might have to change some pathnames from mine if you get link errors.

Second question: In my real project the dll should be able to provide derivied class dependant MFC Objects (Views/Dialogs) which are then shown in the exe. So: Is that (serialization through basepointer in dll) possible with a MFC extension library or do i need to create a MFC gui dll and a "polymorphic_derived2.dll"? Hope that is understandable ;)

lol - I think I understand what you're getting at. I don't know how much I can say without a specific case, but here goes. There are two kinds of libraries static and dynamic. The static one supplies code which a compile time analysis deems is required - and ONLY that code. This is the main attraction of a static library. The dynamic one is loaded at runtime so it doesn't "know" which functions in the library will be called - so it includes ALL the code. Some C++ features (ie calling through virtual base class) refer to code not explicitly named until runtime. This can make the static library approach fail which the dynamic will work. This can be extremely confusing. Mix in templates, and it's even more confusing. Ultimately, one will have to consider how the linker works in light of the specific program in question and tweak things accordingly. There is not "magic bullet" such as "just change the project settings". You just have to spend some time organizing the code to be sure that all the correct code gets included. I don't know if that's helpful, but I'm not sure of what else to say here. Robert Ramey

Best Regards

Georg Gast