The document outlines the stages of compilation from source code to executable files, including key processes like lexical analysis, syntactic analysis, and semantic analysis. It describes the conversion of code into relocatable object code, the linking of multiple binaries, and the final loading into memory for execution. The document also touches on optimization stages that enhance code efficiency and address machine-specific requirements.

1. Compilation From code to executable By David Halliday

2. Stages from Source to Executable Compilation: source code ==> relocatable object code (binaries) Linking: many relocatable binaries (modules plus libraries) ==> one relocatable binary (with all external references satisfied) Loading: relocatable ==> absolute binary (with all code and data references bound to the addresses occupied in memory) Execution: control is transferred to the first instruction of the program

3. Phases of the Compilation Process 1 Lexical analysis (scanning): the source text is broken into tokens. Syntactic analysis (parsing): tokens are combined to form syntactic structures, typically represented by a parse tree. The parser may be replaced by a syntax-directed editor, which directly generates a parse tree as a product of editing. Semantic analysis: intermediate code is generated for each syntactic structure. Type checking is performed in this phase.

4. Phases of the Compilation Process 2 Machine-independent optimization: intermediate code is optimized to improve efficiency. Code generation: intermediate code is translated to relocatable object code for the target machine. Machine-dependent optimization: the machine code is optimized. On some systems (e.g., C under Unix), the compiler produces assembly code, which is then translated by an assembler.