Here's an example I worked on in my current sprint. The user story was to create an encryption/decryption component to encode and decode data strings for certain devices. It needed to be callable from SSIS scripts, C# desktop manufacturing floor apps and by web apps via a web service. This same DLL can be used in all these locations and in any new applications that require this functionality. This means that code won't be duplicated in several places by different programmers.
I've created a lot of other such components over the years for things like database access, device control and many other things. The basic idea is to build a library of functions, you might call it an API, that are commonly used across several applications, either current ones or planned new development.
Increasingly, DLLs are being replaced by web services although the basic strategy of not duplicating functionality and code across many apps is still in place.
Here's an example I worked on in my current sprint. The user story was to create an encryption/decryption component to encode and decode data strings for certain devices. It needed to be callable from SSIS scripts, C# desktop manufacturing floor apps and by web apps via a web service. This same DLL can be used in all these locations and in any new applications that require this functionality. This means that code won't be duplicated in several places by different programmers.
I've created a lot of other such components over the years for things like database access, device control and many other things. The basic idea is to build a library of functions, you might call it an API, that are commonly used across several applications, either current ones or planned new development.
Increasingly, DLLs are being replaced by web services although the basic strategy of not duplicating functionality and code across many apps is still in place.
Thank you for the response. It makes sense that web services are gaining traction with more apps being distributed and accessed over the web.