The term "object code" refers to the compiled version of a software program. The spelling of "object code" can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The first syllable is pronounced as "ahb-jekt" with a short "a" sound in "ah" and the stress on the second syllable. The second syllable is pronounced as "kohd" with a long "o" sound in "koh" and a "d" at the end. Overall, the spelling of "object code" follows basic English phonetic rules.
Object code refers to the output of a compiler or an assembler. When a program is written in a high-level programming language using human-readable and understandable code, it needs to be transformed into a form that can be executed by a computer. The process of converting the source code into object code is known as compilation.
Object code consists of the machine language instructions that a computer's processor can directly understand and execute. It is typically represented in binary form, composed of sequences of 0s and 1s, which reflect the instructions and data that the program contains.
Object code is the next stage after the source code, representing the program in a form that is ready to be executed by a computer. It is a lower-level representation of a program as compared to the human-readable source code. The object code is specific to a particular computer architecture or operating system and cannot be directly executed or understood by humans.
The object code generated from a compiler or an assembler is often stored in a file, commonly known as an object file. Object files can be linked together with other object files and libraries to create a complete executable program that can be run on the target machine. The linking process resolves any references between different object files and produces a final executable file that can be loaded into the computer's memory and executed.
The word "object" in the context of computer programming originated from the Latin word "objectus", which means "thing placed before" or "something that is presented". was first used in English in the early 17th century as a philosophical term to refer to something perceived or known by the mind.
In computer science, "object" refers to a discrete unit that contains both data and the procedures or functions to manipulate that data. In the context of object-oriented programming, an object is an instance of a class, where a class defines the characteristics and behavior of the object.
The term "code" comes from the Latin word "codex", meaning a book or tablet. In the computing world, "code" refers to a set of instructions written in a programming language that can be executed by a computer.
Combining these two terms, "object code" typically refers to the machine-readable output produced by a compiler or an assembler.