7.3. A Taxonomy of Bind Times and Modes
The flexibility of Java class loading means that you can bind your specifications at any time and in any mode. Table 7-1 categorizes some generative programming techniques by bind time and mode. Notice that the divisions are somewhat arbitrary. Because Java preserves full type information in its compiled class file format, most of these techniques could be used at any time. Deployment time and runtime have been combined in the table because dynamic class loading makes it straightforward to redeploy at runtime. I have listed each technique where it is most likely to be used today. Some of these divisions will change in the future; for example, future versions of rmic might generate stubs at runtime.
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