This phrase serves as a connecting link between the preceding and the following.

这个短语起到了承上启下的作用。

《新英汉大辞典》

The cycle includes a join preceding a decision.

此循环包含的 join 位于 decision 之前。

youdao

Preceding a block of JSON data with an endless while loop.

在JSON数据块前面放置一个无限while循环。

youdao

So the exodus is a paradigm for salvation, but it would be a mistake, I think, to view the Exodus as the climax of the preceding narrative.

出埃及是救赎的范本，但我认为，这也许是个错误，把《出埃及记》当做前面叙述的高潮。

耶鲁公开课 - 旧约导论课程节选

Game makers, for instance, are accustomed to filling the months preceding a product launch with a groundswell of hype and preview events.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But something does change, psychologically, in the boom preceding a crash.

FORBES: By Eliminating Failure, The Government Robs Us Of Success

Cipriani's mixed afternoon continued on the resumption though, another scintillating break between two Wallaby forwards preceding a horrible missed drop-goal from barely 15m that Jonny Wilkinson would have landed in his sleep.

BBC: England 14-28 Australia