compilergenerated

Compiler-generated, or compilergenerated, is an adjective used in software engineering to describe code, symbols, or artifacts produced automatically by a compiler or related tooling rather than manually written by a programmer. This distinction helps developers and tools differentiate between authored source and automatically created elements that arise during compilation or transformation phases.

Common examples include state machines and helper methods generated to implement language features such as asynchronous methods, iterators, or property accessors. Some languages also produce synthetic classes or bridge methods to support interoperation, visibility rules, or type conversions. In many ecosystems, compiler-generated members are treated as implementation details rather than part of the primary source, and they may be named or structured in ways that reflect their behind-the-scenes role.

To aid tooling and debugging, languages often provide markers or metadata for compiler-generated code. For instance, a compiler may attach a CompilerGenerated attribute or annotation to generated members so debuggers, decompilers, or static analyzers can recognize them. This labeling assists in filtering out generated code from user-written code during analysis, coverage calculations, or code reviews.

Implications of compilergenerated code include potential differences in readability, performance characteristics, and debugging behavior. Generated code can appear in stack traces or logs with opaque names, and some development practices recommend treating such code as non-editable, regenerating it from source when changes are needed. See also: generated code, synthetic methods, and language-specific compiler features.