Difference between source code and target code?

Answer 1

Source code is code written in a programming language, such as C++ or Java. It is designed to be architecture-independent and human-readable. Source code must be converted to object code (aka machine code) before it can be executed. Object code is architecture-dependent and is not easily human-readable (think ones and zeros).

The point of this setup is that you can ensure that code you write in a programming language (source code) can be executed on ANY architecture that has a proper compiler.

Answer 2

"Source code" refers to the lines of code that a programmer types into the computer.

"Executable code" refers to the code that can run directly on your computer. This is usually obtained by compiling and linking your source code.

"Object code" may have different definitions, depending on who you ask. Often you'll see this term used to describe some intermediate form of code between source code and executable code.

One example I've seen is "object code" being used to refer to the middle step between the compiler and the linker. That is to say, the compiler turns your source code into this object code, which is then passed to the linker to turn into executable code.

Answer 3

I assume you mean object code rather than object module. When you compile a source program, each translation unit is compiled to produce a separate object code file. An object code file contains the compiled machine code instructions. The linker is responsible for linking these object code files to produce the final executable. By compiling translation units separately, compile times can be dramatically reduced since only those translation units that have changed since the last compile need to be recompiled.

Answer 4

Source code deals with code the programmer writes to make a piece of software, while target code deals with code a compiler/linker deals with to make a binary file compatible with a particular architecture (i.e. x86, x64, ARM, RISC, etc).

Answer 5

Source code is the category of computer language instructions that is most frequently written and read by software programmers. A computer cannot generally run a program in source code form though. The source code is translated, with the use of an assembler or compiler, into a language form that contains instructions to the computer known as object code. Object code consists of numeric codes specifying each of the computer instructions that must be executed, as well as the locations in memory of the data on which the instructions are to operate.While source code and object code are commonly referred to as different classes of computer language, these terms actually describe the series of transformations a program goes through when being converted from a higher level language more easily comprehensible to humans to the lower level language of computer operations.

By Muhammad Mansha Khan

Answer 6

Source code is the code you write using C++ keywords and typed variables. Object files are the files produced by the compiler, which are subsequently used by the linker to create an executable file.

Source code generally consists of multiple .CPP source files, each with their own .H header files. An object file combines the source and header into a single object file. Under Windows, these object files use the common object file format (COFF). The full specification for these files is available as a downloadable document but, in essence, each object file contains section headers that inform the linker how to link the raw data (essentially the code and data segments) into the final executable. COFF files can also be used to build libraries of objects. The COFF files can generally be found in the intermediate debug/release folders after compiling a project.

Answer 7

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