dlclose(3C)                                              dlclose(3C)


       NAME
             dlclose - close a shared object

       SYNOPSIS
             #include <dlfcn.h>
             int dlclose(void *handle);

       DESCRIPTION
             dlclose disassociates a shared object previously opened by
             dlopen from the current process.  Once an object has been
             closed using dlclose, its symbols are no longer available to
             dlsym.  All objects loaded automatically as a result of
             invoking dlopen on the referenced object [see dlopen(3C)] are
             also closed.  handle is the value returned by a previous
             invocation of dlopen.

          Return Values
             If the referenced object was successfully closed, dlclose
             returns 0.  If the object could not be closed, or if handle
             does not refer to an open object, dlclose returns a non-0
             value.  More detailed diagnostic information is available
             through dlerror.

       REFERENCES
             dlerror(3C), dlopen(3C), dlsym(3C)

       NOTICES
             A successful invocation of dlclose does not guarantee that the
             objects associated with handle have actually been removed from
             the address space of the process.  Objects loaded by one
             invocation of dlopen may also be loaded by another invocation
             of dlopen.  The same object may also be opened multiple times.
             An object is not removed from the address space until all
             references to that object through an explicit dlopen
             invocation have been closed and all other objects implicitly
             referencing that object have also been closed.

             Once an object has been closed by dlclose, referencing symbols
             contained in that object can cause undefined behavior.









                           Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc.               Page 1