COMPILER
A compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the source language) into another programming language (the target language). The name compiler is primarily used for programs that translate source code from a high-level programming language to a lower level language (e.g., assembly language, object code, or machine code) to create an executable program.
However, there are many different types of compilers. If the compiled program can run on a computer whose CPU or operating system is different from the one on which the compiler runs, the compiler is a cross-compiler. A bootstrap compiler is written in the language that it intends to compile. A program that translates from a low-level language to a higher level one is a decompiler. A program that translates between high-level languages is usually called a source-to-source compiler or transpiler. A language rewriter is usually a program that translates the form of expressions without a change of language. The term compiler-compiler refers to tools used to create parsers that perform syntax analysis.
A compiler is likely to perform many or all of the following operations: preprocessing, lexical analysis, parsing, semantic analysis (syntax-directed translation), conversion of input programs to an intermediate representation, code optimization and code generation. Compilers implement these operations in phases that promote efficient design and correct transformations of source input to target output. Program faults caused by incorrect compiler behavior can be very difficult to track down and work around; therefore, compiler implementers invest significant effort to ensure compiler correctness.
Compilers are not the only language processor used to transform source programs. An interpreter is computer software that transforms and then executes the indicated operations. The translation process influences the design of computer languages which leads to a preference of compilation or interpretation. In practice, an interpreter can be implemented for compiled languages and compilers can be implemented for interpreted languages.
INTERPRETER
In computer science, an interpreter is a computer program that directly executes instructions written in a programming or scripting language, without requiring them previously to have been compiled into a machine language program. An interpreter generally uses one of the following strategies for program execution:
(i) Parse the source code and perform its behavior directly;
(ii) Translate source code into some efficient intermediate representation and immediately execute this;
(iii) Explicitly execute stored precompiled code made by a compiler which is part of the interpreter system.
Early versions of Lisp programming language and Dartmouth BASIC would be examples of the first type. Perl, Python, MATLAB, and Ruby are examples of the second, while UCSD Pascal is an example of the third type. Source programs are compiled ahead of time and stored as machine independent code, which is then linked at run-time and executed by an interpreter and/or compiler (for JIT systems). Some systems, such as Smalltalk and contemporary versions of BASIC and Java may also combine two and three. Interpreters of various types have also been constructed for many languages traditionally associated with compilation, such as Algol, Fortran, Cobol and C/C++.
While interpretation and compilation are the two main means by which programming languages are implemented, they are not mutually exclusive, as most interpreting systems also perform some translation work, just like compilers. The terms “interpreted language” or “compiled language” signify that the canonical implementation of that language is an interpreter or a compiler, respectively. A high level language is ideally an abstraction independent of particular implementations.
ASSEMBLER
An assembler is a type of computer program that interprets software programs written in assembly language into machine language, code and instructions that can be executed by a computer.
An assembler enables software and application developers to access, operate and manage a computer’s hardware architecture and components.
An assembler is sometimes referred to as the compiler of assembly language. It also provides the services of an interpreter.
An assembler primarily serves as the bridge between symbolically coded instructions written in assembly language and the computer processor, memory and other computational components. An assembler works by assembling and converting the source code of assembly language into object code or an object file that constitutes a stream of zeros and ones of machine code, which are directly executable by the processor.
Assemblers are classified based on the number of times it takes them to read the source code before translating it; there are both single-pass and multi-pass assemblers. Moreover, some high-end assemblers provide enhanced functionality by enabling the use of control statements, data abstraction services and providing support for object-oriented programming structures.
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