A compiler is likely to perform some or all of the following operations, often called phases: preprocessing, lexical analysis, parsing, semantic analysis (syntax-directed translation), conversion of input programs to an intermediate representation, code optimization and machine specific code generation..
Compilation process in C involves four steps: pre-processing, compiling, assembling, and linking.
The preprocessor tool helps in comments removal, macros expansion, file inclusion, and conditional compilation..
compilers/assemblers are themselves software, and reside wherever they were installed on the computer. that also implies that you can have as many/few of each as you want. no, it doesn't. e.g. you can trivially compile/assemble code for an ARM cpu running Android while working away on an Intel x86 cpu running Windows..
Compilers are translators that produce object code (machine-runnable version) from source code (human- readable version).
Interpreters are translators that translate only as much as is necessary to run the next statement of the program.
The implementation language for compilers used to be assembly language..
The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that translate source code from a high-level programming language to a low-level programming language (e.g. assembly language, object code, or machine code) to create an executable program..
