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How does an interpreter/compiler work? What is the difference between interpreter and compiler.
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In a compiled language, the target machine directly translates the program. In an interpreted language, the source code is not directly translated by the target machine. Instead, a different program, aka the interpreter, reads and executes the code.
An Interpreter directly executes instructions written in a programming or scripting language without previously converting them to an object code or machine code. Examples of interpreted languages are Perl, Python and Matlab. Following are some interesting facts about interpreters and compilers.
You write the program using a text editor or something similar, and then instruct the interpreter to run the program. It takes the program, one line at a time, and translates each line before running it: It translates the first line and runs it, then translates the second line and runs it etc.
Unlike a compiler, it doesn't translate everything and hand over a file to us, the programmers, to execute. Instead, an interpreter will translate a single line/section of code at a time. Once it has finished translating one line, it will take the machine code version of it, and run it immediately.
Compilers
Compilers were the first sort of translator program to be written. The idea is simple: You write the program, then hand it to the compiler which translates it. Then you run the result.
Interpreters
An interpreter is also a program that translates a high-level language into a low-level one, but it does it at the moment the program is run. You write the program using a text editor or something similar, and then instruct the interpreter to run the program. It takes the program, one line at a time, and translates each line before running it: It translates the first line and runs it, then translates the second line and runs it etc.
Compiler characteristics:
Interpreter characteristics:
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