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Compiling a program also packages assets like images and icons into the program. It is necessary to compile a program before a computer can run it.","contributor":{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Pickle","url":"https://techterms.com/authors/brian_pickle"},"image":"https://techterms.com/img/md/compile_694.png","url":"https://techterms.com/definition/compile"} </script> </head> <body> <div id="full"> <header id="siteheader"> <div class="content"> <a href="#main" class="visuallyhidden">Skip to main content</a> <a href="/" class="logo"><img src="/svg/logo.svg" width="212" height="24" alt="TechTerms.com"></a> <div class="siteheader-middle"> <div class="searchwrapper collapsed"> <form id="search" class="search" action="/search" method="post"> <div class='autocomplete' role='combobox' aria-expanded='false' aria-owns='autocomplete-results'> <input type="text" id="term" name="term" placeholder="Search (e.g. compile, ASP, PHP, C#)" aria-label="Search (e.g. psd, docx, exe, jpg, zip)" autocomplete="off" class='autocomplete-input term' aria-autocomplete='both' aria-controls='autocomplete-results'> <button id="searchsubmit" class="searchsubmit"></button> </div> <ul id='autocomplete-results' class='autocomplete-results hidden' aria-label='Search'> </ul> </form> </div> <a href="/random" class="headerbutton random" id="random"><img src="/svg/random.svg" alt="random" width="16" height="16"></a> <button id="searchtoggle"><img src="/svg/search-white.svg" alt="search" width="18" height="18"></button> </div> <div class="siteheader-right"> <button id="menuopen"><img src="/svg/menu.svg" alt="open menu" width="18" height="16"></button> <nav id="sitemenu" class="collapsed"> <button id="menuclose"><img src="/svg/close.svg" alt="close menu" width="14" height="14"></button> <ul> <li><a href="/browse/">Terms</a></li> <li><a href="/quiz/">Quizzes</a></li> <li><a href="/help/">Help Center</a></li> <li class="mobile"><a href="/random">Random Term</a></li> <li class="settings"><button id="settings"><img src="/svg/settings.svg" alt="settings" width="22" height="22"></button> <div class="settingsmenu"> <fieldset> <legend>Theme</legend> <input id="theme-default" value="default" type="radio" name="theme" checked> <label for="theme-default">Light</label> <input id="theme-dark" value="dark" type="radio" name="theme" > <label for="theme-dark">Dark</label> <input id="theme-hc" value="hc" type="radio" name="theme" > <label for="theme-hc">High Contrast</label> </fieldset> <div class="fontsizewrapper"><label for="fontsize">Font Size<input type="range" id="fontsize" name="fontsize" min="14" max="26" step="2" value="20"></label><span class="currentsize">20</span></div> <button id="resetsettings">Reset</button> </div> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div> </header> <main> <div class="adTopLB"> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1589388248615-0'> </div> </div> <div id="main" class="def"> <div id="left"> <div class="card hasheader"> <div class="cardheader"> <div class="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Home</a><svg viewBox="0 0 9 14" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="m0 14 9-7-9-7z"/></svg><a href="/category/software">Software Terms</a><svg viewBox="0 0 9 14" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="m0 14 9-7-9-7z"/></svg>Compile Definition</div> </div> <article> <h1>Compile</h1> <div class="adDefRect"> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1589302365809-0'> </div> </div> <p>To compile a program is to convert it from human-readable <a href="/definition/source_code">source code</a> into an <a href="/definition/executable_file">executable file</a>. Compiling a program also packages assets like images and icons into the program. It is necessary to compile a program before a computer can run it.</p> <p>When a <a href="/definition/developer">developer</a> writes a program, they do so in a <a href="/definition/programming_language">programming language</a> designed to be easy for them to write, read, and maintain. However, computers cannot run a program directly from source code — the <a href="/definition/cpu">CPU</a> can only understand instructions in its native, low-level <a href="/definition/machine_language">machine language</a>. Compiling a program converts the instructions in the source code into a corresponding set of instructions in machine language, then encodes it into a <a href="/definition/binary">binary</a> executable file.</p> <figure class="deffig"> <img src="https://techterms.com/img/xl/compile_694.png" alt="Compiling a program translates source code files into an executable file" width="725" height="250" class="defimg"> <figcaption class="caption">Compiling a program translates source code files into an executable file</figcaption> </figure> <p>Software development kits (<a href="/definition/sdk">SDKs</a>) include programs called <a href="/definition/compiler">compilers</a> for developers to compile their projects. A compiler converts source code into an executable file for a single <a href="/definition/operating_system">operating system</a> and processor <a href="/definition/architecture">architecture</a> at a time — for example, <a href="/definition/windows">Windows</a> on x86-64 or <a href="/definition/unix">Unix</a> on ARM64. Some compilers allow a developer to include machine code for multiple architectures in a single file — for example, a universal binary for <a href="/definition/macos">macOS</a> that can run on both Intel and Apple Silicon processors — by separately compiling for each processor architecture, then combining them into a single packaged executable.</p> <p><b>NOTE:</b> Programming languages that don't require compiling before running are known as "interpreted" languages. Instead, an "<a href="/definition/interpreter">interpreter</a>" program translates a program's source code into machine language at <a href="/definition/runtime">runtime</a>. For example, a <a href="/definition/javascript">JavaScript</a> program is not compiled but instead runs through a separate JavaScript interpreter.</p> <div class="adBotLB"> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1589236206757-0'> </div> </div> <div class="cardfooter"> <div class="upDate"><div class="author">Updated <span class="pdate">March 31, 2023</span> by <a href="/authors/brian_pickle">Brian P.</a></div></div><div id="citations"> <div class="tabs"> <div role="tablist" aria-label="citations"> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="apa" tabindex="-1">APA</button> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="mla" tabindex="-1">MLA</button> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="chicago" tabindex="-1">Chicago</button> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="html" tabindex="-1">HTML</button> <button role="tab" aria-selected="false" aria-controls="link" tabindex="-1">Link</button> </div> <div class="citationwrap"> <div id="apa" role="tabpanel" 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0-13.5 6-13.5 13.5s6 13.5 13.5 13.5c21.3 0 38.6-17.3 38.6-38.6v-325.7c0-21.3-17.3-38.6-38.6-38.6z" stroke-width="15"/></svg></button> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> <div id="defquiz" class="card"> <h2 class="heading logoheading"><img src="/img/main/quiz.png" alt="quiz" style="width:45px">Test Your Knowledge</h2> <div class="quizBox"> <div class="quizBody"> <p class="quizQuestion">What does "bootstrapping" refer to in software development?</p> <div class="quizTable"> <div id="ansButtonA" class="answerButton activeButton" data-answer="Anum" data-date="2024-05-21"><span class="ansLetter">A</span> <div class="answerCell"><span id="answerA" class="quizAnswer">Building software from the ground up</span> <div class="answerBar"> <div id="quizBarA" class="quizBar"></div><span id="quizPercA" class="quizperc">0%</span> </div> </div> </div> <div id="ansButtonB" class="answerButton activeButton" data-answer="Bnum" data-date="2024-05-21"><span class="ansLetter">B</span> <div class="answerCell"><span id="answerB" class="quizAnswer">Writing software for a new industry</span> <div class="answerBar"> <div id="quizBarB" class="quizBar"></div><span id="quizPercB" class="quizperc">0%</span> </div> </div> </div> <div id="ansButtonC" class="answerButton activeButton" data-answer="Cnum" data-date="2024-05-21"><span class="ansLetter">C</span> <div class="answerCell"><span id="answerC" class="quizAnswer">Running an app in a virtual machine</span> <div class="answerBar"> <div id="quizBarC" class="quizBar"></div><span id="quizPercC" class="quizperc">0%</span> </div> </div> </div> <div id="ansButtonD" class="answerButton activeButton" data-answer="Dnum" data-date="2024-05-21"><span class="ansLetter">D</span> <div class="answerCell"><span id="answerD" class="quizAnswer">Automatically loading and executing commands</span> <div class="answerBar"> <div id="quizBarD" class="quizBar"></div><span id="quizPercD" class="quizperc">0%</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="quizResult"><div class="qmsg"> <b class="quizPass">Correct!</b> <b class="quizFail">Incorrect!</b>   <span class="customMessage"></span>  View the <a href="/definition/bootstrap">Bootstrap definition</a>.</div> <a href="/quiz/#morequizzes" class="quizNext btnprimary">More Quizzes →</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="right"> <div class="prevnext"> <a href="compatibility_layer"><span class="arrow">‹</span>  <span class="linktext">Compatibility Layer</span></a><span> | </span><a href="compiler"><span class="linktext">Compiler</span>  <span class="arrow">›</span></a></div> <div class="tf card"> <h2 class="heading">Tech Factor</h2> <a href="/help/tech_factor" class="info" title="What is the Tech Factor?">?</a> <a href="/techfactor/8"><span class="factor">8</span><span class="denom"> / 10</span></a></div> <div class="listBox card related"> <h2 class="heading">Related Terms</h2> <div class="rlists"> <ol> <li><a href="/definition/source_code">Source Code</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/program">Program</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/compiler">Compiler</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/sdk">SDK</a></li> </ol> <ol start="5"><li><a href="/definition/programming_language">Programming Language</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/architecture">Architecture</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/processor">Processor</a></li> <li><a href="/definition/platform">Platform</a></li> </ol> </div> </div> <div class="adRightSky"> <div id='div-gpt-ad-1589233879778-0'> </div> </div> </div> <div class="techterms card"> <h2 class="heading">The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary</h2> <p>The definition of Compile on this page is an original definition written by the <a href="/authors/">TechTerms.com team</a>. If you would like to reference this page or cite this definition, please use the green citation links above.</p> <p>The goal of TechTerms.com is to explain computer terminology in a way that is easy to understand. We strive for simplicity and accuracy with every definition we publish. 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