lähtekoostud

Lähtekoostud is an Estonian term that translates to "initial compilation" or "source code compilation." It refers to the process of taking human-readable source code written in a programming language and transforming it into machine-executable code that a computer can understand and run. This process is a fundamental step in software development.

The compilation process typically involves several stages. First, the source code is parsed and checked for syntax errors. If errors are found, the compiler will report them to the programmer, who must then correct the code before compilation can proceed. Once the syntax is validated, the code is often translated into an intermediate representation. This intermediate form is then optimized to improve the efficiency of the final executable code. Finally, the optimized intermediate code is translated into machine code specific to the target processor architecture.

Compilers are specialized software tools that perform this transformation. Different programming languages require different compilers. For instance, a C++ compiler will process C++ source code, while a Java compiler will handle Java source code. The output of the compilation process is usually an executable file, such as a .exe file on Windows or a binary file on Linux, which can then be run directly by the operating system. In some cases, particularly with languages like Java or Python, the compilation might produce intermediate bytecode that is then interpreted or compiled further by a virtual machine.