Static Linking

• The process of compiling a Binary that incorporates all the Library functions it references into itself
• Stands in contrast to Dynamic Linking

Advantages

• Ensures that you don’t need to worry a specific library (or even library version) exists on the target operating system
• Can make a binary more portable

Disadvantages

• Because a statically-linked incorporates all the linked function code, it makes the binary bigger
• When you statically link in the code from external libraries, your own program doesn’t change even if those libraries are upgraded. This can lead to security vulnerabilities.

Other Notes

• It can be possible to link in libc but is not typically recommended; as such, even with static linking, you generally need to consider a program’s libc compatibility (e.g. a musl-linked binary cannot run on a glibc system without special considerations