binding

The ability of molecules to bind each other non-covalently because of the exact shape and chemical nature of parts of their surfaces. A common biological phenomenon, as e.g. an enzyme to its substrate; an antibody to its antigen; a DNA strand to its complementary strand. See: ligand.

See also: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (ADAM)

Process of associating two related elements of information.

In computer, communications, and automatic data processing systems, assigning a value or referent to an identifier. Note: Examples of binding include assigning a value to a parameter, assigning an absolute address to a virtual or relative address, and assigning a device identifier to a symbolic address or label. 2. [In security, the] process of associating a specific communications terminal with a specific cryptographic key or associating two related elements of information. [INFOSEC-99]

A process by which software components and layers are linked together. When a network component is installed, the binding relationships and dependencies for the components are established.