2.5 Programming Languages & IDEs

Question 1

What are the instructions that tell a computer what to do written in ?

Answer 1

Machine code

Question 2

What is machine code ?

Answer 2

A series of numbers written in binary or hexadecimal.

Question 3

What are high-level languages ?

Answer 3

languages that are close to the spoken and written language of the programmer.

Question 4

What are the cons of machine code ?

Answer 4

• Difficult to learn
• Program in
• Debug

Question 5

What is source code ?

Answer 5

Any program written in a high level language

Question 6

What must happen to source code first ?

Answer 6

Translated to machine code before understanding and executing

Question 7

What are low level languages ?

Answer 7

A computer programming language which closely represents machine language

Question 8

What are the two types of low level languages ?

Answer 8

• Machine code
• Assembly

Question 9

What are the pros of machine code ?

Answer 9

• Greater control
• More complex commands

Question 10

Where does assembly language sit ?

Answer 10

Between machine code and high level language.

Question 11

What do high level languages use to form instructions ?

Answer 11

Statements

Question 12

What does assembly use to form instructions ?

Answer 12

Mnemonics

Question 13

What are the pros of using mnemonics ?

Answer 13

• Easier to understand and debug than machine code

Question 14

What is opcode ?

Answer 14

• Operation code
• Specifies instructions that can executed by a CPU

Question 15

What is operand ?

Answer 15

Data that is manipulated by the CPU/processor according to the given opcode

Question 16

What must source code first be changed to ?

Answer 16

Object code

Question 17

What are the three types of translators ?

Answer 17

• Compilers
• Interpreters
• Assemblers

Question 18

What is the feature of a compiler ?

Answer 18

• Translates source code as a whole in one go.

Question 19

What are pros of a compiler ?

Answer 19

• Run quickly
• Supplied as an executable file
• Optimise code (Use less memory)

Question 20

What are cons of compilers ?

Answer 20

• Don’t usually spot errors
• Source code must be recompiled
• Source code compiled on one platform won’t run on another

Question 21

What are features of an interpreter ?

Answer 21

translates source code into object code one
instruction at a time - Interpretation

Question 22

What are the pros of Interpreters ?

Answer 22

• Executed as soon as translated
• Require less available memory
• Spot errors quickly

Question 23

What are cons of of Interpreters ?

Answer 23

• Run more slowly
• Don’t produce an executable file
• Don’t optimise code
• Translated every time it’s run

Question 24

What are features of an IDE ?

Answer 24

• Editors
• Run-time environments
• Auto line numbering
• Colour coding
• Variable tracing
• Auto-correct/suggest/indent
• Interpreters
• Breakpoints

Question 25

What is a Virtual Machine ?

Answer 25

An emulation of a computer system.