The build process, behind the scenes
It all seems quite natural when we an application by editing some C++ header or source files, adding some modules in the project file, and finally pressing the run button. However, there are a few processes going on behind the scenes which, by working in the correct order, executed by the IDE (in our case Qt Creator), allow this smooth and natural sense of development. In general, there are three major processes that lead to the creation of an executable (such as *.exe) when we press the run or Build button in Qt Creator, or any other IDE for that matter. Here are those three processes:
- Preprocessing
- Compiling
- Linking
Note
This is a very high-level categorization of the processes and phases going when an application is created from the source files. This categorization allows a much simpler overview of the processes and an easier way to understand their purpose in general. However, these processes include many subprocesses and phases that are out of the scope...
