What is compiler, linker, loader?

Question

I wanted to know in depth meaning and working of compiler, linker and loader. With reference to any language preferably c++.

Answer 1

Hope this helps you a little more.

First, go through this diagram:

                         (img source->internet)

You make a piece of code and save the file (Source code), then

Preprocessing :- As the name suggests, it's not part of compilation. They instruct the compiler to do required pre-processing before the actual compilation. You can call this phase Text Substitution or interpreting special preprocessor directives denoted by #.

Compilation :- Compilation is a process in which a program written in one language get translated into another targeted language. If there is some errors, the compiler will detect them and report it.

Assemble :- Assemble code gets translated into machine code. You can call assembler a special type of complier.

Linking:- If these piece of code needs some other source file to be linked, linker link them to make it a executable file.

There are many process that happens after it. Yes, you guessed it right here comes the role of the loader:

Loader:- It loads the executable code into memory; program and data stack are created, register gets initialized.

Little Extra info :- http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/memory-layout-of-c-program/ , you can see the memory layout over there.