
Practical aids
to programming
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in such a system must generate code in a much more complicated
general format called 'relocatable binary'.
Where this can be done, library subroutines are sometimes stored in
relocatable binary instead of their original source language. This allows
them to be incorporated in programs of any language, and saves them
from being translated afresh every time they are used. On the other
hand, a subroutine available only in relocatable binary cannot easily be
studied or altered, and the use of such a subroutine implies a high
degree of trust in its original programmer.
Loaders
The loader is a program that runs o