What happens when I compile?

Question

I wonder what is compiling, what happens when you compile? I mean yes you press compile or type in in the console but what does it actually do in the \"background\"?

Answer 1

Compiling is translating source code to machine code. Usually a compiler (or interpreter) will generate an intermediate code sometimes called byte code which runs on a virtual machine (this is how java is compiled). The byte code is translated by the vm to machine specific code thats runs on the particular architecture you are targeting. This whole process can be considered "compiling"