The scope resolution operator, a backslash ( \ ), allows access to variables and modules outside the current scope. The scope resolution operator must be used with an object value, and a member name (either a variable or module name).
The scope resolution operator may also be used to accomplish a feature called "late binding". As discussed in What is a Variable?, a variable is a place denoted by an identifier where a value is stored, and "binding" is the means by which the identifier and the storage location in memory are associated. Late binding (also referred to as "dynamic binding") links a variable or object at run time. Early binding refers to the process of assigning types to variables and expressions at compilation time.
When a scope resolution operator is placed before a variable or module name, such as in:
\VarName
it is considered the equivalent of writing:
Self\VarName
but it uses less RAM than the second statement. Early binding is typically more efficient than late binding as it reduces the amount of time required to set or retrieve a value, whereas late binding consumes more memory, and is slower than a direct variable reference; however, in some instances it is useful to reference modules and variables that are not in scope at compile time.