What is Precompilation in Programming?

Precompiled means that the code has been compiled ahead of time, so that it can be loaded and executed more quickly. In other words, the compilation step has been performed beforehand, so that the code can be run directly without having to go through the compilation process again. This can improve performance because it eliminates the need for just-in-time (JIT) compilation, which can be slower.

Precompilation is commonly used in situations where performance is critical, such as in video games or high-performance computing applications. It can also be useful in situations where the code needs to be executed on multiple platforms or devices, as it allows the code to be compiled once and then run consistently across different environments.

Precompiled code can be distributed as a binary or an executable file, which can be loaded into memory and executed directly by the application. This can be contrasted with interpreted languages, where the code is not compiled ahead of time and must be interpreted at runtime.