Editing Late binding (section)

===Late binding in Java===
There are three definitions for late binding in Java.

Early documents on Java discussed how classes were not linked together at compile time. While types are statically checked at compile time, different implementations for classes could be swapped out just prior to runtime simply by overwriting the class file. As long as the new class definition had the same class and method names, the code would still work. In this sense it is similar to the traditional definition of late binding.

Currently, it is popular to use the term late binding in Java programming as a synonym for [[dynamic dispatch]]. Specifically, this refers to Java's [[Dynamic dispatch#Single and multiple dispatch|single dispatch]] mechanism used with virtual methods.

Finally, Java can use late binding using its reflection APIs and [[type introspection]] much in the same way it is done in COM and .NET programming. Generally speaking those who only program in Java do not call this late binding. Likewise the use of "duck typing" techniques is frowned upon in Java programming, with abstract interfaces used instead.

Oracle, the current owner of Java, has been known to use the term late binding in the "duck typing" sense when discussing both Java and other languages in the same documentation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E12840_01/wls/docs103/jcom/comtowls.html |title=Calling into WebLogic Server from a COM Client Application |publisher=Download.oracle.com |date= |accessdate=2013-08-16}}</ref>