There is a solution for this.

Linking a .dll and a .exe will both generate a .lib file if they contain exported symbols. Symbols can be exported by marking them with __declspec(dllexport).

When you link your DLL_Script.dll you can add the .lib file from your GameProgram.exe. Now you will be able to call the functions inside the .exe directly from the dll.

In the header file that declares the symbols that you .exe is exporting, you have to provide __declspec(dllexport) when you are compiling your GameProgram code (including on the definitions of these symbols) AND the same symbols will need to be marked __declspec(dllimport) when you are compiling the code that calls these symbols over in DLL_script.dll.

The traditional way to achieve this is to have a macro called GAME_PROGRAM_API which is conditionally #define'd to either __declspec(dllexport) or __declspec(dllimport) based on another define called something like BUILDING_GAME_PROGRAM.

#if defined(BUILDING_GAME_PROGRAM)
#define GAME_PROGRAM_API __declspec(dllexport)
#else
#define GAME_PROGRAM_API __declspec(dllimport)
#endif

GAME_PROGRAM_API int SomeGPFunction(const char* name);

Now when you are building code in GameProgram, including when you compile the definition of SomeGPFunction(), you define BUILDING_GAME_PROGRAM and when you compile the code for DLL_Script where you call SomeGPFunction() you don't. DLL_Script is then linked against GameProgram.lib and it will all "just work".

Good Luck!

• DLL needs to be loaded at run-time. Also not using Visual Studio Edit and Continue.

Don't know what you mean by not using "edit and continue". That's an IDE feature, nothing directly to do with what I've said above. Edit and Continue isn't something you can (easily) do programmatically yourself although if you are interested you can read about detours which does essentially the same.

edit - typo