 These shared components are called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_(computing)#Shared_libraries">dynamically linkable libraries or "shared object" files (.dll or .so)</a>, if you've come across them in your operating system. Statically linked binaries package up all those shared components into self-contained units that each contain their own versions of the shared files, and lose those efficiency benefits.</p><p>It seems static linking became more fashionable as storage and memory became le