Compilation

There are a number of steps to the C compilation process.

1. Write code. Obviously.
2. Preprocess. A preprocessor removes comments, expands macros, and includes header files.
3. Lex. A lexer converts the source code into a sequence of tokens.
4. Parse. A parser converts the sequence of tokens into an abstract syntax tree (AST).
5. Type check. A type checker annotates the AST with the type of every expression and variable.
6. Generate code. A code generator converts the AST into assembly code.
   1. Turn the AST into assembly-like code with infinite registers.
   2. Add a variety of optimizations.
   3. Allocate registers and memory locations.
   4. Assemble the results.
7. Link. A linker connects the assembly code with the libraries and system calls it needs to function.
8. Load. A loader loads the executable into memory.