What type of analysis involves executing programs to observe their behavior?

Dynamic analysis is the type of analysis that involves executing programs in a controlled environment to observe their behavior in real time. This approach allows security analysts to monitor how software interacts with the system, track memory usage, and detect runtime anomalies such as memory leaks, unexpected resource consumption, or erratic outputs. By running the program, analysts can gain insights into its operational behavior, identify potential vulnerabilities, and understand how it reacts to various inputs or conditions.

In contrast, static analysis examines the code without executing it, focusing on structure and potential vulnerabilities through tools that analyze the code base for specific patterns or issues. Comparative analysis compares different pieces of data or sets of applications to identify similarities or differences, while descriptive analysis summarizes existing data to describe characteristics or trends. Each of these methods serves different purposes in software evaluation and security assessments, but it is dynamic analysis that specifically centers on execution and behavior observation.