There is this library called ARIA (
http://robots.mobilerobots.com/wiki/ARIA ), which I downloaded. They advice us to recompile instead of using the compiled version if we use a different compiler to compile the programs we write using the library functions. I have been able to successfully create (putting their source code in a "Shared library" project in Code::Blocks) a .so file, which I could include in my subsequent programs using the library. I did this because I have a more recent version of GCC than they've used when making their supplied .so file. I have been able to successfully compile and execute these programs too.
However, on Windows, choosing a "Shared library" project and putting in their source code creates a .dll, .a and a .def instead. I have successfully created these three files for the library's source code. However, as I create projects trying to
use the Library, the (Project) Build options -> Linker settings -> Add button offers addition only for .a, .lib, .so, .dylib and .bundle files and not .dll files. Merely including the .a in my project and trying to compile it generates "function definition marked dllimport" errors for hundreds of functions in the library. These errors persist when I copy down the .dll in my project folder and in the bin\Debug folder. I've also tried adding the DLL's path in Build options -> Search directory".