Translators & Compilers Language Translators • It is a software which converts or translates a programming language • to machine code. • All programs and websites are written using programming languages and script languages. • Revisezone is built using 3 Languages • HTML,CSS & JS - however html and css are not programming languages • There are two types of translators - interpreter and compilers • Programming languages are broken down to two types: High level Language • Usually, the source code of a program is written by the programmer in high level language. • This must be converted to a form which can be understood by the computer. Low level language • These are programming languages which are closely related to machine code. • Machine code is another word for binary code. • Compilers and Interpreters only translate high level languages and not assembly language. Compilers • The translator first translates the source code into an intermediate code and the code is compiled as a whole. • If there are errors present at the end of the process it will display an error diagnostics, but it will not produce any final machine or compile code. • If no errors are detected the intermediate code is then converted to a machine executable code. • This compiled code is in binary and so it runs directly on the processor. Advantages • An executable code is produced which can be distributed. This is also more secure as the users will not receive the source code. • Doesn't require the translator software to run the compiled code • Executes very fast and directly on the processor Disadvantages • Compiled programs can have viruses • The compilation process is quite long and resourceful and also provides a compiled code after all the errors have been corrected • Higher chance of system crashing Interpreter • This type of translator executes the code line by line and not the whole code at once • It produces an object or machine code for each line and executes it. • If an error is identified the execution stops and thus alerts the user to correct the error Advantages • Best for debugging and testing purposes as it produces an alert as soon as the error is found • The whole code doesn't have to be written as the code is translated line by line Disadvantage • The execution of the process is very slow • The source code is seen by the user so it less secure • The translator is used every time the program is executed • The main use of interpreters is for building a program
