What is the difference between static and dynamic libraries in software development?

Static and dynamic libraries differ in the way they are linked and used in an application:

• Static libraries (.a, .lib) are compiled and linked with the program at build time. The code from the library is directly included in the executable file. This increases the size of the final application but simplifies distribution, as no additional files are required.

• Dynamic libraries (.dll, .dylib, .so) are loaded into memory at runtime. This allows sharing code between multiple applications, reducing the size of the executable, and updating libraries without recompiling the entire application.

On iOS, dynamic frameworks (.framework) are typically used, which are loaded at application launch.