Chapter 10 - Programming language translators

Question 1

Assembler

Answer 1

translates low level assembly language (source code) into machine code (object code that is executable, but is dependent on hardware) or an intermediate, byte code

Question 2

Compiler

Answer 2

translates high level languages to machine code; scans source code to build up information to translate to object code (different compilers needed for different hardware)

• No need to recompile unless if error is spotted
• Runs faster than interpreter
• Can be distributed without source code

Question 3

Interpreter

Answer 3

scans one line at a time and if it contains no syntax errors, executes it
Can be run on any computer with appropriate interpreter

Question 4

Bytecode

Answer 4

• Intermediate between compiling the interpreting
• Translated by byte code interpreter
• Platform independence – byte code can be translated to any specific machine code
• Extra security layer – protects against malicious software