library vis export library

["Lee, Robert C." <rc dot lee at ngc dot com>]

I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question. In the Cygwin User's
Guide, it shows how to create a dll with gcc with the -shared switch in much
the way you create a shareable library, but it also shows how to create a
export library with gcc. In one case you end up with a dll; in the other,
you have a dll and a .a file. Why would I use one over the other? And what's
the difference?

Thanks,
Robert

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