The process of converting source code into executable software by compiling, linking, and packaging all necessary components. A build creates a runnable version of the application from the raw code files.
From Old English 'byldan' meaning to construct. In computing since the 1950s, it describes assembling software components into a complete, executable program, like building a house from blueprints and materials.
Building software is like assembling a complex IKEA furniture set - you have all these pieces (source files) and instructions (build scripts), and the build process puts them together into something you can actually use! The difference is that software builds can be automated and repeated perfectly every time.
Construction, engineering, and software ‘building’ have often been framed as male domains, with language and imagery that assume male builders and coders. This has contributed to gender gaps in these fields.
Use “build” in ways that do not assume the builder’s gender, and highlight contributions from people of all genders in construction, engineering, and software development.
["create","develop","construct"]
Women engineers, architects, and software developers have been central to building physical and digital infrastructure, though their work has frequently been under-recognized or attributed to male colleagues.
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