Compiler vs. interpreter: Key differences
Compilation and interpretation are the two primary methods for executing code in the realm of programming. In order for computers to comprehend and execute high-level programming languages, compilers and interpreters are essential tools. Although they have this in common, how they go about achieving it and how it affects program performance are very different.
To better understand their respective functions in the software development process, this article will examine the main distinctions between interpreters and compilers.
The complete source code of a program produced in a high-level programming language is simultaneously translated into machine code (binary code) by a compiler, a specialized tool. There are numerous phases of the compilation process that are typical, including lexical analysis, syntactic analysis, semantic analysis, optimization and code creation. A standalone executable file produced by a compiler can be run directly by the operating system.
An interpreter, on the other hand, is a program that reads a program’s source code line by line and runs it immediately without first creating a file of intermediate machine code. The interpreter quickly executes each statement after translating it into machine code or intermediate code, rather than translating the entire program at once. This means that when a program is running, the source code is read and translated in real time.
The execution process is one of the key distinctions between interpreters and compilers. Before running, a compiler converts the complete source code into machine code, creating a standalone executable file. As a result of the conversion being completed beforehand, the built software often runs faster. But the initial compilation
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