Binding time

In computer programming, binding time describes when an association is made in software between two data or code entities. This may occur either before or after execution starts. Early (a.k.a. static) binding occurs before the program starts running and cannot change during runtime. Late (a.k.a. dynamic or virtual) binding occurs as the program is running. Binding time applies to any type of binding including name, memory (i.e. via malloc), and type (i.e. for literals).