Compilation and Execution Process of C Programs

The compilation and execution process of C can be divided in to multiple steps:

Preprocessing - Using a Preprocessor program to convert C source code in expanded source code. "#includes" and "#defines" statements will be processed and replaced actually source codes in this step.

Compilation - Using a Compiler program to convert C expanded source to assembly source code.

Assembly - Using a Assembler program to convert assembly source code to object code.

Linking - Using a Linker program to convert object code to executable code. Multiple units of object codes are linked to together in this step.

Loading - Using a Loader program to load the executable code into CPU for execution.

Here is a simple table showing input and output of each step in the compilation and execution process:

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