Compiling a C++ program

Introduction

In C++, creating an executable file involves three steps:

• Preprocessing
• Compilation
• Linking

To create a simple C++ application first, you need to write source code. Source code is a set of human-readable instructions written in a specific programming language.

📝Note: We save the source code of the C++ program in a file with a cpp extension.

Preprocessing

Lines that start with # are known as preprocessor directives. Preprocessor directives tell the compiler to preprocess some information before starting the compilation. For example, #include <filename> is a preprocessor directive. When a preprocessor encounters this statement, it takes the content of the filename and pastes it into the file that calls the preprocessor directive.