[fpc-pascal] Embedding DLL into EXE for Windows 32 bit?

[Bo Berglund]

Is it possible to embed a DLL into the EXE file such that only the exe
needs to be distributed?

I need to use a 3rd party protection dongle in my programs. The maker
provides a DLL interface but it means that I must send this DLL along
with my program, which I would rather not do.

Previously we used another maker's dongle and this used a Windows
driver plus an OBJ file which we could link into our exe. Now the
driver is no longer being updated so we need to switch to another
brand of dongle.
But sending a DLL along with the exe seems a risk for hacking, nothing
stops a hacker from replacing the dll with one of his own with
modified code....

Since this maker does not have an OBJ file to link with I thought I
would ask if it is possible to embed the DLL functionality directly
into the exe?

Or is there some tool that can take a DLL as input and create the OBJ
file, which can then be used to link into the program?

I am looking at FPC 3.0.4 with Lazarus 1.8.4 on Windows 32 bit and
compatibility with Delphi 7-XE5 32 bit.


-- 
Bo Berglund
Developer in Sweden