The basic C compiler has a number of powerful features, but there are some things it just can’t do. To get around its limitations, a preprocessor was added to the language. The preprocessor is primarily a macro processor, a program that replaces text with other text, but it can also include and exclude text and perform other actions based on certain conditions. The idea is to have one program (the preprocessor) do a small, simple text editing job and then feed that into the compiler proper. Since those two steps (and a few others) are hidden behind the gcc command, you hardly think about them, but they are there.
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