CODEWITHSUNDEEP
compiler-construction
Bionix1441
Bionix1441

Reputation: 2319

How does the compiler determin on which platform it is running?

In case of having an application that is supported on two different operating systems. There is a specific implementation for each operating system.I would like to know how does the compiler know on which platform it is running so that it compiles implementation X and not Y.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 56

Answers (2)

sga001
sga001

Reputation: 178

Compilers usually take a program written in high level language (e.g., C, Rust, Go) and produce an executable for a specific OS and architecture. If you have a compiler that can support multiple OSes and architectures, then it is likely that you would pass in the appropriate parameters via a command line flag or through some configuration file. The compiler could also try to infer the target OS (assuming the target OS is the same OS that is running the compiler) via environment variables such as "OS" and "PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE".

Upvotes: 2

Ari0nhh
Ari0nhh

Reputation: 5920

Target platform is determined by compiler using command-line flags, which are provided by the IDE, or developer. For example -m32 flag for gcc, or -mwindow for MinGW. Complete set of this flags you could see in your compiler documentation.

Upvotes: 2

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