In TRNSYS 15, adding a new component (Type) required to rebuild the Fortran DLL that included all the TRNSYS Types and the kernel. In version 16, the capability of TRNSYS to adapt to new types of simulation problems has been pushed beyond new limits: Using the Dynamic Link Library (DLL) technology, it is now possible to easily add a new component, written in any programming language, as a Windows™ DLL. This way, component models created by different teams can be used together without even using a compiler: copying the DLL provided by the model author onto the hard disk is sufficient to run it!

TRNSYS 16 is split in several DLL’s that are loaded when TRNSYS is launched. TRNSYS then searches through all the DLL’s for the components that are used in the simulation. This process allows to easily add a new component to TRNSYS by dropping a pre-compiled DLL into the right directory.

The principle of the multi-DLL project is illustrated in the Figure here below.

The TRNSYS kernel only loads the components that are used in a simulation and manages conflicts between DLL’s (e. g. Types defined in more than one DLL). This makes the DLL much smaller in most cases.

It is still possible to recompile TRNSYS 16 as a single DLL for advanced users who give more importance to easy debugging.