Compile-time

Because some information are only available for compiler and some other are only can be extracted in runtime, certain tasks can be done in compile-time and some in runtime. Typically in compile-time the following tasks can be done: Type-checking[?], Static binding[?], enforcing scoping rules, instantiating of templates[?], optimization. Those are also called semantic analysis. Typically the following tasks might not be done: boundary check of an array, dynamic binding[?].

Compile-time errors are those detected already during compilation, i.e. before even starting execution.

In compile-time, some tasks that cannot be done in a run-time environment can be done. See cross-compiler[?].

When an interpreter is used there may be no separation between compile-time and run-time. There may instead be a interpretation phase (often into bytecode) followed by execution, but performed by the same software and not exposed to the user. A type of error that would otherwise be a compile-time error, will then be detected in the course of executing the program.