Types of program translators

Created by

Fauzia Habib

Cards (12)

What is an assembler
A program that translates a whole program {source code} written in assembly code and translates it into machine code {object code}
What is source code
Code that has not been translated into an executable format
What is object code
Translated code that is executable on any computer
What is an interpreter
A program that translates high-level languages by reding each statement in the source code and executing it immediately
What are the advantages of an interpreter (2)
Code is translated every time it is executed, so it can be run on computers with different processors
Can execute a section of the code, rather than the whole thing at once every single time
What are the disadvantages of an interepreter (3)
Takes time to execute, as each statement needs translating every single time it is executed
Source code must be shared to users for them to execute code
Can only be translated and executed if the computer has the same interpreter installed
What is a compiler 
A program that translates high-level languages to machine code by translating all the code at once
What are the benefits of a compiler (3)
No need for source code once it has been compiled
Protects source-code as only object code needs to be shared with users
Whole code is already translated, making execution time short
What are the disadvantages of compilers
Takes ages to debug, as you have to translate the whole code every time you make a change to the source code
Object code will only run on a computer with the same platform/processor
In what situation is it appropriate to use an interpreter
When a program is being developed
In what situation is it appropriate to use a compiler
When distributing a program to users, as it allows for fast execution, and source code protection
What is bytecode 
An instruction set used for programming that can be executed on any computer using a virtual machine that mimics the architecture of the computer