ccomp

Deep Dive into the C Compilation Process: From Source Code to Machine Execution

Project motivation

This project provides a rigorous, systems-level explanation of how C source code becomes machine-executable programs. It focuses on real toolchains, binary formats, and runtime behavior without oversimplifying the underlying mechanisms.

Learning goals

• Build a mental model of CPU execution and memory behavior.
• Understand each stage of the C compilation pipeline.
• Inspect real artifacts such as preprocessed output, assembly, object files, and ELF binaries.
• Explain linking, relocation, and dynamic loading at a practical level.
• Reason about ABIs and platform differences.

Target audience

Learners who want a precise, low-level view of how C programs are built and executed.

Knowledge prerequisites

• Basic C programming and command-line use.
• Familiarity with basic computer architecture terms is helpful.

Directory structure

• chXX-name/ contains chapter content in both Markdown and LaTeX.
• chXX-name/assets/ stores figures and diagrams for the chapter.
• chXX-name/exp/ contains a guided experiment in Markdown and LaTeX.
• ccomp-style.sty defines LaTeX styling used across chapters.
• Makefile builds the PDF book with latexmk.

How to build the PDF version

• Install a LaTeX distribution that includes latexmk.
• Run make all from the project root.
• The final PDF is written to dist/ccomp-book.pdf.

How to read the online version

• Open each chXX-name/chXX-name.md file in order.
• Each chapter includes an experiment in exp/exp.md.
• You can also download the pdf from Here.

Contribution guidelines

• Keep terminology precise and consistent with existing chapters.
• Prefer small, focused changes with clear rationales.
• Add experiments that are reproducible with standard toolchains.

Note

Important

Most of the work is done by openclaw(claude), and copilot formulate a detailed plan rather I only concept the outline.

License

MIT