diff --git a/build/cmake/setup.cmake b/build/cmake/setup.cmake
index deb456924b..7808705b74 100644
--- a/build/cmake/setup.cmake
+++ b/build/cmake/setup.cmake
@@ -614,10 +614,7 @@ set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES dl)
 check_symbol_exists(dlopen dlfcn.h HAVE_DLOPEN)
 cmake_pop_check_state()
 if(HAVE_DLOPEN)
-    check_symbol_exists(dlerror dlfcn.h HAVE_DLERROR)
     check_symbol_exists(dladdr dlfcn.h HAVE_DLADDR)
-else()
-    check_symbol_exists(shl_load dl.h HAVE_SHL_LOAD)
 endif()
 check_function_exists(gettimeofday HAVE_GETTIMEOFDAY)
 
diff --git a/build/cmake/setup.h.in b/build/cmake/setup.h.in
index c18154227b..613cef5ba5 100644
--- a/build/cmake/setup.h.in
+++ b/build/cmake/setup.h.in
@@ -984,9 +984,6 @@
 /* Define if you have pthread_attr_setstacksize */
 #cmakedefine HAVE_PTHREAD_ATTR_SETSTACKSIZE 1
 
-/* Define if you have shl_load() */
-#cmakedefine HAVE_SHL_LOAD 1
-
 /* Define if you have snprintf() */
 #cmakedefine HAVE_SNPRINTF 1
 
@@ -1089,9 +1086,6 @@
 /* Define if wchar_t is distinct type in your compiler. */
 #cmakedefine wxWCHAR_T_IS_REAL_TYPE 1
 
-/* Define if you have the dlerror function.  */
-#cmakedefine HAVE_DLERROR 1
-
 /* Define if you have the dladdr function.  */
 #cmakedefine HAVE_DLADDR 1
 
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index fd5c48a680..9b6e686b28 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -32736,70 +32736,6 @@ if test "x$ac_cv_lib_dl_dlopen" = xyes; then :
                                 HAVE_DL_FUNCS=1
                                 DL_LINK="-ldl $DL_LINK"
 
-else
-
-                                for ac_func in shl_load
-do :
-  ac_fn_c_check_func "$LINENO" "shl_load" "ac_cv_func_shl_load"
-if test "x$ac_cv_func_shl_load" = xyes; then :
-  cat >>confdefs.h <<_ACEOF
-#define HAVE_SHL_LOAD 1
-_ACEOF
-
-                                                $as_echo "#define HAVE_SHL_LOAD 1" >>confdefs.h
-
-                                                HAVE_SHL_FUNCS=1
-
-else
-
-                                                { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for dld in -lshl_load" >&5
-$as_echo_n "checking for dld in -lshl_load... " >&6; }
-if ${ac_cv_lib_shl_load_dld+:} false; then :
-  $as_echo_n "(cached) " >&6
-else
-  ac_check_lib_save_LIBS=$LIBS
-LIBS="-lshl_load  $LIBS"
-cat confdefs.h - <<_ACEOF >conftest.$ac_ext
-/* end confdefs.h.  */
-
-/* Override any GCC internal prototype to avoid an error.
-   Use char because int might match the return type of a GCC
-   builtin and then its argument prototype would still apply.  */
-#ifdef __cplusplus
-extern "C"
-#endif
-char dld ();
-int
-main ()
-{
-return dld ();
-  ;
-  return 0;
-}
-_ACEOF
-if ac_fn_c_try_link "$LINENO"; then :
-  ac_cv_lib_shl_load_dld=yes
-else
-  ac_cv_lib_shl_load_dld=no
-fi
-rm -f core conftest.err conftest.$ac_objext \
-    conftest$ac_exeext conftest.$ac_ext
-LIBS=$ac_check_lib_save_LIBS
-fi
-{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: $ac_cv_lib_shl_load_dld" >&5
-$as_echo "$ac_cv_lib_shl_load_dld" >&6; }
-if test "x$ac_cv_lib_shl_load_dld" = xyes; then :
-
-                                                                HAVE_SHL_FUNCS=1
-                                                                DL_LINK="-ldld $DL_LINK"
-
-fi
-
-
-fi
-done
-
-
 fi
 
 
@@ -32808,63 +32744,6 @@ done
 
 
                         if test "$HAVE_DL_FUNCS" = 1; then
-                for ac_func in dlerror
-do :
-  ac_fn_c_check_func "$LINENO" "dlerror" "ac_cv_func_dlerror"
-if test "x$ac_cv_func_dlerror" = xyes; then :
-  cat >>confdefs.h <<_ACEOF
-#define HAVE_DLERROR 1
-_ACEOF
- $as_echo "#define HAVE_DLERROR 1" >>confdefs.h
-
-else
-
-                        { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for dlerror in -ldl" >&5
-$as_echo_n "checking for dlerror in -ldl... " >&6; }
-if ${ac_cv_lib_dl_dlerror+:} false; then :
-  $as_echo_n "(cached) " >&6
-else
-  ac_check_lib_save_LIBS=$LIBS
-LIBS="-ldl  $LIBS"
-cat confdefs.h - <<_ACEOF >conftest.$ac_ext
-/* end confdefs.h.  */
-
-/* Override any GCC internal prototype to avoid an error.
-   Use char because int might match the return type of a GCC
-   builtin and then its argument prototype would still apply.  */
-#ifdef __cplusplus
-extern "C"
-#endif
-char dlerror ();
-int
-main ()
-{
-return dlerror ();
-  ;
-  return 0;
-}
-_ACEOF
-if ac_fn_c_try_link "$LINENO"; then :
-  ac_cv_lib_dl_dlerror=yes
-else
-  ac_cv_lib_dl_dlerror=no
-fi
-rm -f core conftest.err conftest.$ac_objext \
-    conftest$ac_exeext conftest.$ac_ext
-LIBS=$ac_check_lib_save_LIBS
-fi
-{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: $ac_cv_lib_dl_dlerror" >&5
-$as_echo "$ac_cv_lib_dl_dlerror" >&6; }
-if test "x$ac_cv_lib_dl_dlerror" = xyes; then :
-  $as_echo "#define HAVE_DLERROR 1" >>confdefs.h
-
-fi
-
-
-
-fi
-done
-
                 for ac_func in dladdr
 do :
   ac_fn_c_check_func "$LINENO" "dladdr" "ac_cv_func_dladdr"
diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index c45f68fff5..4bf3edd290 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -5385,31 +5385,11 @@ if test "$TOOLKIT" != "MSW"; then
                                 AC_DEFINE(HAVE_DLOPEN)
                                 HAVE_DL_FUNCS=1
                                 DL_LINK="-ldl $DL_LINK"
-                            ],
-                            [
-                                AC_CHECK_FUNCS(shl_load,
-                                              [
-                                                AC_DEFINE(HAVE_SHL_LOAD)
-                                                HAVE_SHL_FUNCS=1
-                                              ],
-                                              [
-                                                AC_CHECK_LIB(shl_load, dld,
-                                                             [
-                                                                HAVE_SHL_FUNCS=1
-                                                                DL_LINK="-ldld $DL_LINK"
-                                                             ])
-                                              ])
                             ])
             ])
 
             dnl check also for dlerror()
             if test "$HAVE_DL_FUNCS" = 1; then
-                AC_CHECK_FUNCS(dlerror,
-                    AC_DEFINE(HAVE_DLERROR),
-                    [
-                        AC_CHECK_LIB(dl, dlerror, AC_DEFINE(HAVE_DLERROR))
-                    ]
-                )
                 AC_CHECK_FUNCS(dladdr,
                     AC_DEFINE(HAVE_DLADDR),
                     [
diff --git a/include/wx/dynlib.h b/include/wx/dynlib.h
index 6c791cfaba..1036771c06 100644
--- a/include/wx/dynlib.h
+++ b/include/wx/dynlib.h
@@ -29,9 +29,6 @@ class WXDLLIMPEXP_FWD_BASE wxDynamicLibraryDetailsCreator;
 #elif defined(HAVE_DLOPEN)
     #include <dlfcn.h>
     typedef void               *wxDllType;
-#elif defined(HAVE_SHL_LOAD)
-    #include <dl.h>
-    typedef shl_t               wxDllType;
 #elif defined(__WXMAC__)
     #include <CodeFragments.h>
     typedef CFragConnectionID   wxDllType;
@@ -357,11 +354,9 @@ protected:
     // common part of GetSymbol() and HasSymbol()
     void* DoGetSymbol(const wxString& name, bool* success = NULL) const;
 
-#ifdef HAVE_DLERROR
-    // log the error after a dlxxx() function failure
-    static void Error();
-#endif // HAVE_DLERROR
-
+    // log the error after an OS dynamic library function failure
+    static void ReportError(const wxString& msg,
+                            const wxString& name = wxString());
 
     // the handle to DLL or NULL
     wxDllType m_handle;
diff --git a/include/wx/osx/config_xcode.h b/include/wx/osx/config_xcode.h
index a1ceef066a..cafe26808e 100644
--- a/include/wx/osx/config_xcode.h
+++ b/include/wx/osx/config_xcode.h
@@ -87,7 +87,6 @@
 #define SIZEOF_LONG_LONG 8
 #define wxSIZE_T_IS_ULONG 1
 #define wxWCHAR_T_IS_REAL_TYPE 1
-#define HAVE_DLERROR 1
 #define HAVE_FCNTL 1
 #define HAVE_GETHOSTBYNAME 1
 #define HAVE_GETSERVBYNAME 1
diff --git a/setup.h.in b/setup.h.in
index 26ed7a7d14..59a8fce331 100644
--- a/setup.h.in
+++ b/setup.h.in
@@ -984,9 +984,6 @@
 /* Define if you have pthread_attr_setstacksize */
 #undef HAVE_PTHREAD_ATTR_SETSTACKSIZE
 
-/* Define if you have shl_load() */
-#undef HAVE_SHL_LOAD
-
 /* Define if you have snprintf() */
 #undef HAVE_SNPRINTF
 
@@ -1089,9 +1086,6 @@
 /* Define if wchar_t is distinct type in your compiler. */
 #undef wxWCHAR_T_IS_REAL_TYPE
 
-/* Define if you have the dlerror function.  */
-#undef HAVE_DLERROR
-
 /* Define if you have the dladdr function.  */
 #undef HAVE_DLADDR
 
diff --git a/setup.h_vms b/setup.h_vms
index 92efe12b49..ddb49c8cce 100644
--- a/setup.h_vms
+++ b/setup.h_vms
@@ -1076,9 +1076,6 @@ typedef pid_t GPid;
 #undef HAVE_SETENV
 #endif
 
-/* Define if you have shl_load() */
-#undef HAVE_SHL_LOAD
-
 #if __CRTL_VER >= 70312000
 /* Define if you have snprintf() */
 #define HAVE_SNPRINTF 1
@@ -1197,9 +1194,6 @@ typedef pid_t GPid;
 /* Define if wchar_t is distinct type in your compiler. */
 #define wxWCHAR_T_IS_REAL_TYPE 1
 
-/* Define if you have the dlerror function.  */
-#define HAVE_DLERROR 1
-
 /* Define if you have the dladdr function.  */
 #undef HAVE_DLADDR
 
diff --git a/src/common/dynlib.cpp b/src/common/dynlib.cpp
index 13b0f4544e..37fea09768 100644
--- a/src/common/dynlib.cpp
+++ b/src/common/dynlib.cpp
@@ -86,11 +86,7 @@ bool wxDynamicLibrary::Load(const wxString& libnameOrig, int flags)
 
     if ( m_handle == 0 && !(flags & wxDL_QUIET) )
     {
-#ifdef HAVE_DLERROR
-        Error();
-#else
-        wxLogSysError(_("Failed to load shared library '%s'"), libname.c_str());
-#endif
+        ReportError(_("Failed to load shared library '%s'"), libname);
     }
 
     return IsLoaded();
@@ -114,12 +110,7 @@ void *wxDynamicLibrary::GetSymbol(const wxString& name, bool *success) const
     void *symbol = DoGetSymbol(name, success);
     if ( !symbol )
     {
-#ifdef HAVE_DLERROR
-        Error();
-#else
-        wxLogSysError(_("Couldn't find symbol '%s' in a dynamic library"),
-                      name.c_str());
-#endif
+        ReportError(_("Couldn't find symbol '%s' in a dynamic library"), name);
     }
 
     return symbol;
diff --git a/src/msw/dlmsw.cpp b/src/msw/dlmsw.cpp
index d664c6ae4b..d5916d408f 100644
--- a/src/msw/dlmsw.cpp
+++ b/src/msw/dlmsw.cpp
@@ -145,6 +145,31 @@ wxDllType wxDynamicLibrary::GetProgramHandle()
     return (wxDllType)::GetModuleHandle(NULL);
 }
 
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// error handling
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/* static */
+void wxDynamicLibrary::ReportError(const wxString& message, const wxString& name)
+{
+    wxString msg(message);
+    if ( name.IsEmpty() && msg.Find("%s") == wxNOT_FOUND )
+        msg += "%s";
+    // msg needs a %s for the name
+    wxASSERT(msg.Find("%s") != wxNOT_FOUND);
+
+    const unsigned long code = wxSysErrorCode();
+    wxString errMsg = wxSysErrorMsgStr(code);
+
+    // The error message (specifically code==193) may contain a
+    // placeholder '%1' which stands for the filename.
+    errMsg.Replace("%1", name, false);
+
+    // Mimic the output of wxLogSysError(), but use our pre-processed
+    // errMsg.
+    wxLogError(msg + " " + _("(error %d: %s)"), name, code, errMsg);
+}
+
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // loading/unloading DLLs
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/unix/dlunix.cpp b/src/unix/dlunix.cpp
index 325d029c02..8686449d34 100644
--- a/src/unix/dlunix.cpp
+++ b/src/unix/dlunix.cpp
@@ -50,9 +50,7 @@
 #endif
 
 
-#if defined(HAVE_DLOPEN)
-    #define USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
-#elif !defined(HAVE_SHL_LOAD)
+#ifndef HAVE_DLOPEN
     #error "Don't know how to load dynamic libraries on this platform!"
 #endif
 
@@ -66,11 +64,7 @@
 
 wxDllType wxDynamicLibrary::GetProgramHandle()
 {
-#ifdef USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
    return dlopen(0, RTLD_LAZY);
-#else
-   return PROG_HANDLE;
-#endif
 }
 
 /* static */
@@ -79,7 +73,6 @@ wxDllType wxDynamicLibrary::RawLoad(const wxString& libname, int flags)
     wxASSERT_MSG( !(flags & wxDL_NOW) || !(flags & wxDL_LAZY),
                   wxT("wxDL_LAZY and wxDL_NOW are mutually exclusive.") );
 
-#ifdef USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
     // we need to use either RTLD_NOW or RTLD_LAZY because if we call dlopen()
     // with flags == 0 recent versions of glibc just fail the call, so use
     // RTLD_NOW even if wxDL_NOW was not specified
@@ -89,54 +82,21 @@ wxDllType wxDynamicLibrary::RawLoad(const wxString& libname, int flags)
         rtldFlags |= RTLD_GLOBAL;
 
     return dlopen(libname.fn_str(), rtldFlags);
-#else // !USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
-    int shlFlags = 0;
-
-    if ( flags & wxDL_LAZY )
-    {
-        shlFlags |= BIND_DEFERRED;
-    }
-    else if ( flags & wxDL_NOW )
-    {
-        shlFlags |= BIND_IMMEDIATE;
-    }
-
-    return shl_load(libname.fn_str(), shlFlags, 0);
-#endif // USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS/!USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
 }
 
 /* static */
 void wxDynamicLibrary::Unload(wxDllType handle)
 {
-#ifdef HAVE_DLERROR
-    int rc =
-#endif
+    int rc = dlclose(handle);
 
-#ifdef USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
-    dlclose(handle);
-#else // !USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
-    shl_unload(handle);
-#endif // USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS/!USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
-
-#if defined(USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS) && defined(HAVE_DLERROR)
     if ( rc != 0 )
-        Error();
-#endif
+        ReportError(_("Failed to unload shared library"));
 }
 
 /* static */
 void *wxDynamicLibrary::RawGetSymbol(wxDllType handle, const wxString& name)
 {
-    void *symbol;
-
-#ifdef USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
-    symbol = dlsym(handle, name.fn_str());
-#else // !USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
-    // note that shl_findsym modifies the handle argument to indicate where the
-    // symbol was found, but it's ok to modify the local handle copy here
-    if ( shl_findsym(&handle, name.fn_str(), TYPE_UNDEFINED, &symbol) != 0 )
-        symbol = 0;
-#endif // USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS/!USE_POSIX_DL_FUNCS
+    void *symbol = dlsym(handle, name.fn_str());
 
     return symbol;
 }
@@ -145,20 +105,24 @@ void *wxDynamicLibrary::RawGetSymbol(wxDllType handle, const wxString& name)
 // error handling
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-#ifdef HAVE_DLERROR
-
 /* static */
-void wxDynamicLibrary::Error()
+void wxDynamicLibrary::ReportError(const wxString& message,
+                                   const wxString& name)
 {
+    wxString msg(message);
+    if ( name.IsEmpty() && msg.Find("%s") == wxNOT_FOUND )
+        msg += "%s";
+    // msg needs a %s for the name
+    wxASSERT(msg.Find("%s") != wxNOT_FOUND);
+
     wxString err(dlerror());
 
     if ( err.empty() )
         err = _("Unknown dynamic library error");
 
-    wxLogError(wxT("%s"), err);
+    wxLogError(msg + wxT(": %s"), name, err);
 }
 
-#endif // HAVE_DLERROR
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // listing loaded modules