Dynamic linking of software components

Traditionally, dynamic linkers merely combined previously compiled pieces of code. Faster processors are now making outright code generation at load time practical, leading to cross-platform portability at very little extra cost. While the central idea behind dynamic linking is quite straightforward, it can be implemented through a surprising variety of strategies. The author contrasts three simple dynamic linking schemes with two much more elaborate strategies. The latter represent a workload shift from the compiler to the dynamic linker, just as dynamic linking itself represents a shift that moves the functions of a separate linker into the loader. Because the new techniques promise the profound additional benefit of cross-platform portability, they will most likely displace the currently popular linking-loader approach.