What is the difference between - 1) Preprocessor,linker, 2)Header file,library? Is my understanding correct?

Question

Okay, until this morning I was thoroughly confused between these terms. I guess I have got the difference, hopefully.

Firstly, the confusion was that since the preprocessor already includes the header files into the code which contains the functions, what library functions does linker link to the object file produced by the assembler/compiler? Part of the confusion primarily arose due to my ignorance about the difference between a header file and a library.

After a bit of googling, and stack-overflowing (is that the term? :p), I gathered that the header file mostly contains the function declarations whereas the actual implementation is in another binary file called the library (I am still not 100% sure about this).

So, suppose in the following program:-

#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{
      printf("whatever");
      return 0;
}

The preprocessor includes the contents of the header file in the code. The compiler/compiler+assembler does its work, and then finally linker combines this object file with another object file which actually has stored the way printf() works.

Am I correct in my understanding? I may be way off...so could you please help me?

Edit: I have always wondered about the C++ STL. It always confused me as to what it exactly is, a collection of all those headers or what? Now after reading the responses, can I say that STL is an object file/something that resembles an object file?

And also, I thought where I could read the function definitions of functions like pow(), sqrt() etc etc. I would open the header files and not find anything. So, is the function definition in the library in binary unreadable form?

Answer 1

A C source file goes through two main stages, (1) the preprocessor stage where the C source code is processed by the preprocessor utility which looks for preprocessor directives and performs those actions and (2) the compilation stage where the processed C source code is then actually compiled to produce object code files.

The preprocessor is a utility that does text manipulation. It takes as input a file that contains text (usually C source code) that may contain preprocessor directives and outputs a modified version of the file by applying any directives found to the text input to generate a text output.

The file does not have to be C source code because the preprocessor is doing text manipulation. I have seen the C Preprocssor used to extend the make utility by allowing preprossor directives to be included in a make file. The make file with the C Preprocessor directives is run through the C Preprocessor utility and the resulting output then fed into make to do the actual build of the make target.

Libraries and linking

A library is a file that contains object code of various functions. It is a way to package the output from several source files when they are compiled into a single file. Many times a library file is provided along with a header file (include file), typically with a .h file extension. The header file contains the function declarations, global variable declarations, as well as preprocessor directives needed for the library. So to use the library, you include the header file provided using the #include directive and you link with the library file.

A nice feature of a library file is that you are providing the compiled version of your source code and not the source code itself. On the other hand since the library file contains compiled source code, the compiler used to generate the library file must be compatible with the compiler being used to compile your own source code files.

There are two types of libraries commonly used. The first and older type is the static library. The second and more recent is the dynamic library (Dynamic Link Library or DLL in Windows and Shared Library or SO in Linux). The difference between the two is when the functions in the library are bound to the executable that is using the library file.

The linker is a utility that takes the various object files and library files to create the executable file. When an external or global function or variable is used the C source file, a kind of marker is used to tell the linker that the address of the function or variable needs to be inserted at that point.

The C compiler only knows what is in the source it compiles and does not know what is in other files such as object files or libraries. So the linker's job is to take the various object files and libraries and to make the final connections between parts by replacing the markers with actual connections. So a linker is a utility that "links" together the various components, replacing the marker for a global function or variable in the object files and libraries with a link to the actual object code that was generated for that global function or variable.

During the linker stage is when the difference between a static library and a dynamic or shared library becomes evident. When a static library is used, the actual object code of the library is included in the application executable. When a dynamic or shared library is used, the object code included in the application executable is code to find the shared library and connect with it when the application is run.

In some cases the same global function name may be used in several different object files or libraries so the linker will normally just use the first one it comes across and issue a warning about others found.

Summary of compile and link

So the basic process for a compile and link of a C program is:

• preprocessor utility generates the C source to be compiled

• compiler compiles the C source into object code generating a set of object files

• linker links the various object files along with any libraries into executable file

The above is the basic process however when using dynamic libraries it can get more complicated especially if part of the application being generated has dynamic libraries that it is generating.

The loader

There is also the stage of when the application is actually loaded into memory and execution starts. An operating system provides a utility, the loader, which reads the application executable file and loads it into memory and then starts the application running. The starting point or entry point for the executable is specified in the executable file so after the loader reads the executable file into memory it will then start the executable running by jumping to the entry point memory address.

One problem the linker can run into is that sometimes it may come across a marker when it is processing the object code files that requires an actual memory address. However the linker does not know the actual memory address because the address will vary depending on where in memory the application is loaded. So the linker marks that as something for the loader utility to fix when the loader is loading the executable into memory and getting ready to start it running.

With modern CPUs with hardware supported virtual address to physical address mapping or translation, this issue of actual memory address is seldom a problem. Each application is loaded at the same virtual address and the hardware address translation deals with the actual, physical address. However older CPUs or lower cost CPUs such as micro-controllers that are lacking the memory management unit (MMU) hardware support for address translation still need this issue addressed.

Entry points and the C Runtime

A final topic is the C Runtime and the main() and the executable entry point.

The C Runtime is object code provided by the compiler manufacturer that contains the entry point for an application that is written in C. The main() function is the entry point provided by the programmer writing the application however this is not the entry point that the loader sees. The main() function is called by the C Runtime after the application is started and the C Runtime code sets up the environment for the application.

The C Runtime is not the Standard C Library. The purpose of the C Runtime is to manage the runtime environment for the application. The purpose of the Standard C Library is to provide a set of useful utility functions so that a programmer doesn't have to create their own.

When the loader loads the application and jumps to the entry point provided by the C Runtime, the C Runtime then performs the various initialization actions needed to provide the proper runtime environment for the application. Once this is done, the C Runtime then calls the main() function so that the code created by the application developer or programmer starts to run. When the main() returns or when the exit() function is called, the C Runtime performs any actions needed to clean up and close out the application.