In C or C++ when we write a code in the editor "our source code" ,it is transfer to
1---Preprocessor
and then
2---Compliler
and then
3---Linker
Please can u explain what is the purpose of preprocessor ,what is its functionality ??? what does it do with the source code ??? its mechanism etc etc ???
Thanks in advance
I might be wrong because I haven't really done any extensive research into how the preprocessor works, but I think it's basically a text editor that recognizes certain characters. Like so it knows when it sees #define NUMBER 10 to replace every instance of NUMBER with 10.
And yea the order is.
Preprocesser
Then its compiled to an object file
Then its linked with other object files
Then its in executable form.
There is a command in gcc that lets you see the source code after it goes through the preprocessor I think, ive never tryed it though.
Its the preprocessors job to prepare the translation unit for the compiler. This generally means taking out bits of code between #ifs and expanding #define macros. Also doing the #including etc.
Any c/c++ keyword that starts with a # is a preprocessor instruction.
look up in your helpfiles...
#define
#include
#if
#ifdef
#ifndef
etc.
Free the weed!! Class B to class C is not good enough!!
And the FAQ is here :- http://faq.cprogramming.com/cgi-bin/smartfaq.cgi
