How are shared libraries loaded?

A process can load a shared library at runtime by using the dlopen() call, which instructs the runtime linker to load this library. Once the library is loaded, the program can call any function within that library by using the dlsym() call to determine its address.

How shared libraries work in Linux?

Shared libraries are the most common way to manage dependencies on Linux systems. These shared resources are loaded into memory before the application starts, and when several processes require the same library, it will be loaded only once on the system. This feature saves on memory usage by the application.