From the course: C++ Essential Training

The C++ toolchain - C++ Tutorial

From the course: C++ Essential Training

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The C++ toolchain

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- [Instructor] C++ is a compiled language. This means that your development cycle will include a distinct compilation step. If you're already familiar with a scripting language, like JavaScript, Python, Perl, or PHP, this may be a new experience for you. Languages like JavaScript, Python, Perl, and PHP are effectively interpreted languages. This means that your entire tool chain consists of an editor and the language interpreter. Your development cycle is simple. You edit the source code and you run it. Then, you make a change or continue developing. You repeat the cycle, edit, run, edit, run. C++ is a compiled language. This means that before you can run the code, it must be converted from source code into something your operating system can run. For most of us, this happens in an integrated development environment, an IDE, like Xcode or Visual Studio, but it's still important to understand what all the steps are. The first step is the preprocessor. The preprocessor is responsible for expanding macros, providing conditional compilation, and combining source files with included header files into a single file for the compiler. The output from the preprocessor is usually a larger file of source code called a translation unit. The compiler takes the source code from each translation unit and compiles it into object code. This object code includes a symbol table that allows it to link with code in other object files, including libraries. The object file from the compiler is not yet executable by the operating system. A linker takes one or more object files, resolves all of their interdependencies, and combines them into something the operating system can run. This allows you to use external libraries, even when you don't have the source code for those libraries. The output from the linker is an executable that can run in your operating system. Now you can run your code and continue the development cycle as necessary. In most cases, especially when you're using an IDE, like Xcode or Visual Studio, all of these steps, preprocessor, compiler, and linker, are automated by one command. This combined set of actions is often collectively referred to as compiling. And even when considered as a unit, each of these functions is performed as a separate step, and each step is a vital part of the process. This may seem like a lot of unnecessary detail, but it's okay if you don't commit at all to memory. As we get into the details of C++, you'll get a better understanding of how this knowledge impacts your coding.

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