OpenEuphoria

Re: Compiler,Translator,Interpeter,Binder?

• Posted by Jason Gade <jaygade at yahoo.com> Dec 21, 2004
• 485 views

don cole wrote:
> 
> 
> Could somebody please define compiler ,translator and intepeter and binder?
> 
> Like Compiler=Translates source code into binary code (I think)
> Example:Bind.bat(I
> think).
>  I thought I understood all this but after reading the "Wayyy to slow" thread
> I am thoughly confused.
> 
> don cole 
> SF
> 

Sorry, I forgot interpreter.

Interpreters don't translate source code directly into executable machine code. 
They read a program one line at a time and then execute whatever machine code
routines are implied by that source line.

Modern interpreters translate source code into a faster internal representation
before executing.

The advantage over traditional compiled languages and languages like Java that
have to be explicitly compiled to bytecode before running is that it saves the
programmer time.  The usual procedure for compiled languages is edit - compile -
link - run - debug (rinse, repeat).  For interpreted languages the process is
edit - run - debug (rinse, repeat).

Interpreted languages are also usually safer (i.e. they don't crash your
machine) and more expressive (i.e. some algorithms can be expressed in fewer
lines of code) than compiled languages though not always.

=====================================
Too many freaks, not enough circuses.

j.