title: Static linking vs dynamic linking
body: <p>Are there any compelling performance reasons to choose static linking over dynamic linking or vice versa in certain situations? I've heard or read the following, but I don't know enough on the subject to vouch for its veracity.</p>
  
  <p>1) The difference in runtime performance between static linking and dynamic linking is usually negligible.</p>
  
  <p>2) (1) is not true if using a profiling compiler that uses profile data to optimize program hotpaths because with static linking, the compiler can optimize both your code and the library code. With dynamic linking only your code can be optimized. If most of the time is spent running library code, this can make a big difference. Otherwise, (1) still applies.</p>