Linking CXX executable

Linking a C++ executable in Unix-like systems (including Linux and macOS) typically involves combining object files generated during compilation with the appropriate libraries to create a standalone program that can be run on the system. Here's a brief overview of the process:

1. **Object Files**: When you compile source code using a compiler like `g++` or `clang++`, it generates object files (.o or .obj), which contain compiled functions.

2. **Source Code**: These object files are usually produced from separate `.cpp` or `.cc` source files using `-c` flag followed by the source file name.

   g++ -c main.cpp

3. **Linking**: The next step is to link these object files together into an executable file. This is done using the `g++` command with the `-l` flag for linking external libraries.

   g++ -o my_program main.o -lstdc++ -lm // assuming 'main.o' contains the main() function

`-lstdc++` is the standard C++ library, while `-lm` links the math library.

4. **Runtime Libraries**: If your program uses dynamically linked libraries (`.so` or `.dylib` files), you need to include them as well, either through `-L` option to specify the library search path and `-l` for each library.

5. **Debugging**: For development purposes, you might want to use `-g` flag for including debug symbols or `-Wl,-rpath` to set runtime library paths directly in the executable.

6. **Static vs Dynamic**: You can also choose to build statically linked executables using `-static` flag, where all required libraries are included within the binary itself.