C++ Program Development Cycle

The C++ development cycle describes the process to create a program. This process is divided in to four steps as shown in the figure:
Generally, to create a program, you follow these steps:
1. Type the code in a source code editor (Turbo C++, Quincy C++ Compiler, CodeWarrior or some other editor). Here you will write C++ instructions to perform the task, in a predefined format
2. Compile the code.  Compiling means translating source code into object code. If there are errors, you must go back to the code to fix them.
3. Link the code. Linking the code is the process of checking to see whether the code works with all the files that you included in the program. If you get an error, you must return to Step 1 to fix the error.
4. Test the program. You test the program to be sure that it functions properly. Here you will perform the follwing steps:
1. Execute / run the program.
2. Enter sample data
3. Check the output results. Are they accurate?
If your program makes it through all of these steps successfully, then the development cycle is now complete.