The bonding situation in four classes of compounds is analyzed with modern charge and energy decomposition methods. The nature of the bonding in the diatomic species H₂, N₂, CO, and BF is investigated with the energy decomposition analysis (EDA). The electronic structure of the heavy-atom homologs of acetylene HEEH (E = SiPb) is investigated with the help of an orbital analysis and EDA calculations. Metal–ligand bonding in isoelectronic metal hexacarbonyls TM(CO)₆^q (TM^q = Hf²⁻, Ta⁻, W, Re⁺, Os²⁺, Ir³⁺) is the subject of a detailed EDA study. The bonding situation in the unusual 12-fold coordinated transition-metal compound [Mo(ZnH)₁₂] is analyzed with the AIM (atoms in molecules), EDA, and MO methods. The results of the electronic structure analyses build a bridge between the heuristic bonding models, which are ubiquitously used in inorganic chemistry and accurate quantum chemical calculations.