How does the compilation/linking process work in c++?

Answer:

The compilation of a C++ program involves three steps:

Preprocessing:  The preprocessor takes a C++ source code file and deals with the #includes, #defines and other preprocessor directives. The output of this step is a “pure” C++ file without pre-processor directives.

Compilation: The compiler takes the preprocessor’s output and produces an object file from it.

Linking: The linker takes the object files produced by the compiler and produces either a library or an executable file.