preprocessor

[ pree-pros-es-er, -uh-seror, especially British, -proh-ses-er, -suh-ser ]

noun

, Computers.

1. a program that performs some type of processing, as organization of data or preliminary computation, in advance of another program that will perform most of the processing.

Word History and Origins

Origin of preprocessor¹

First recorded in 1965–70; pre- + processor

Example Sentences

Developers can’t just run existing application code through a preprocessor that magically extracts all the optimizable pieces, generates the OpenCL, links the module back into the main code tree and executes the relevant pieces on an FPGA.

From Forbes

Writing programs is beyond the scope of this book, but here are some of the more popular development programs in Debian:    gcc            The GNU C Compiler, a modern optimizing C compiler.    g++            The C++ compiler from the gcc line.    cpp            The C preprocessor from gcc.    perl            The Perl interpreter.

From Project Gutenberg