A software method for obtaining an address of a thread-local variable while executing a computer program is described. The method designates a memory location to store an address of a function. The method, after the computer program starts to run, obtains the address of the thread-local variable by executing a resolver function whose address is stored in the memory location when a module that references the thread-local variable is loaded. The resolver can be a lazy resolver function or other resolver functions optimized for specific modules or variables.