noun
- computer programs that process data or code before it is passed to another program for further processing
Usage: computing; programming
Examples
- The C preprocessor handles directives like #include and #define before compilation.
- CSS preprocessors like Sass allow developers to use variables and functions.
- Many programming languages rely on preprocessors to expand macros.
- The build system uses several preprocessors to optimize the code.
- Web developers often use preprocessors to streamline their workflow.
- These preprocessors convert the source files into a format the compiler can understand.