The vast majority of C++ compilers will convert the C++ source into object files (machine code with enough control information to be linked into an executable)..
The C programming language is what is referred to as a compiled language.
In other words, C programs are implemented by compilers, which translate source code into machine-readable code (more on that later).
The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is one such compiler for the C language..
C++ is designed to be a compiled language, meaning that it is generally translated into machine language that can be understood directly by the system, making the generated program highly efficient.
For that, a set of tools are needed, known as the development toolchain, whose core are a compiler and its linker..
A compiler converts the whole source code to object code while an interpreter transforms and runs the source code line by line.
A compiler is defined as a software that transforms an entire set of source code into object code and saves it as a file before executing it..
Compiling is the transformation from Source Code (human readable) into machine code (computer executable)..
How does a compiler translate source code into machine code? — A compiler divides the text into tokens, organizes them into a parse tree, records context, and traverses the tree to generate machine code.
Why is it important to compile a program for a specific computer?.
Organization.
The source code which constitutes a program is usually held in one or more text files stored on a computer's hard disk; usually, these files are carefully arranged into a directory tree, known as a source tree.
Source code can also be stored in a database (as is common for stored procedures) or elsewhere..
The process of converting a high-level programming language into machine code is called "compilation." Compilation involves translating the human-readable code written in a high-level programming language into the low-level binary instructions that a computer's CPU can execute directly..
The purpose of a compiler is to ensure that the programmer's intentions are correctly translated into a form that the computer can understand.
Code written in a high-level programming language, such as Python or Java, must first be converted into machine language before it can be run on a computer..
From the point of view of the CPU, machine code is stored in RAM, but is typically also kept in a set of caches for performance reasons.
There may be different caches for instructions and data, depending on the architecture.
The CPU knows what machine code to execute, based on its internal program counter..
