Editing Cross compiler (section)

{{Short description|Cross-platform machine-code compiler}}
{{Program execution}}

A '''cross compiler''' is a [[compiler]] capable of creating [[executable]] code for a [[computing platform|platform]] other than the one on which the compiler is running.  For example, a compiler that runs on a [[Personal computer|PC]] but generates code that runs on [[Android (operating system)|Android devices]] is a cross compiler.

A cross compiler is useful to compile code for multiple platforms from one development host. Direct compilation on the target platform might be infeasible, for example on [[embedded system]]s with limited computing resources.

Cross compilers are distinct from [[source-to-source compiler]]s. A cross compiler is for [[cross-platform software]] generation of machine code, while a source-to-source compiler translates from one coding language to another in text code. Both are [[programming tool]]s.