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Program Translation with GCC

Programs are translated into different forms by the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC). GCC is a toolchain that performs several stages of translation to convert high-level programming code into executable files for a specific platform.

Translation Process:

  1. Source Code: Write the program in a high-level programming language like C.
  2. Preprocessing: The preprocessor handles tasks like macro expansion and file inclusion.
    3. gcc -E source_code.c -o preprocessed_code.i
  3. Compilation: The compiler translates the preprocessed code into target-specific assembly code.
    4. gcc -S preprocessed_code.i -o assembly_code.s
  4. Assembly: The assembler converts assembly code into machine code, producing object files.
    5. gcc -c assembly_code.s -o object_code.o
  5. Linking: The linker combines object files, resolves references, and generates the executable.
    6. gcc object_code.o -o executable_program

The entire process can be simplified using a single command: 

gcc source_code.c -o executable_program

This command performs all the necessary steps, from preprocessing to linking, producing the final executable program.