Compile

When you are working with a compiled programming language, compilation has to happen every time you change the source code. Just as source code is written in a file, compiled code is written to a different file. As changes are made to the source code, the two files can get out of sync. When such a conflict arises, your source code is the source of truth. The compiled code is really just a snapshot of what was in the source code at a given point in time (see Figure 4.7). These types of conflicts can be confusing and frustrating (my source code says to do the right thing, but my software isn’t doing that thing!). Build tools can ease the pain by automatically compiling every time you save a source code file or by automatically compiling ...

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