Module, instance, and image in Windows

When reading windows via C/C ++, we often see the words module, instance, and image. In fact, this is a term in windows. Module is equivalent to EXE and DLL files. In the process address space, both EXE and DLL are loaded as modules.

The hmodule and hinstance in windows have the same data structure. Their values are all an address, that is, the base address of the module. This is why all functions such as loadicon and LoadImage require an hmodule parameter. They need this parameter to read resources from the module address. EXE and DLL are generally loaded through memory map. If rebase and binding are performed, they do not occupy system storage, so they are read in the address space, it will read the corresponding content on the disk. In Windows, EXE and DLL can contain resources (bitmap, icon, dialog box...). After these resources are compiled by the resource compiler, embedded will be in the EXE/DLL file. Of course, you can choose not to include embedded resources in EXE or DLL. You can use functions such as LoadImage to directly read external files.

As for the image, it actually refers to the EXE file. It is not the meaning of the image.