The linking was just an example (although important for those who generate native binaries). With java or c# there are other, but similar low-level issues that the programmer should be aware, because they can affect the deployment. The typical example may be a 3rd-party library or SDK you are using was compiled with the same library as you are using, just with different version. Maybe even the runtime you are using supplies some version too (think a Java application server like JBoss, your .ear containing your app with dependencies and one of those dependencies is a third-party jar with the same-but-different lib). Even in PHP or JavaScript you can end up with dependency hell, solving which is miles away from organizing your files in the IDE and necessity to know how things work under the hood.