2.4 Conventions

Throughout this manual, the term “compiler” is used. It can refer to all, or a subset of, the collection of applications that comprise the MPLAB XC8 C Compiler. When it is not important to identify which application performed an action, it will be attributed to “the compiler.”

In a similar manner, “compiler” is often used to refer to the command-line driver; although specifically, the driver for the MPLAB XC8 C Compiler package is named xc8-cc. The driver and its options are discussed in 3.6 Option Descriptions. Accordingly, “compiler options” commonly refers to command-line driver options.

In a similar fashion, “compilation” refers to all or a selection of steps involved in generating an executable binary image from source code.