COMPILER & INTERPRETER

A compiler is a program that translates the entire source program written in some high-level programming language (such as Java) into machine code for some computer architecture (such as the Intel Pentium architecture).

1. A computer program which reads entire source code and outputs assembly code or executable code is called compiler.
2. A program that translates software written in source code into instructions that a computer can understand Software used to translate the text that a programmer writes into a format the CPU can use.
3. A piece of software that takes third-generation language code and translates it into a specific assembly code. Compilers can be quite complicated pieces of software.

An Interpreter is a program that translates a source program written in some high-level programming language (such as BASIC) into machine code for some computer architecture (such as the Intel Pentium architecture) line by line.

1. A computer program which reads line by line source code and outputs assembly code or executable code is called interpreter.

Difference between Compiler and Interpreter

No	Compiler	Interpreter
1	Compiler Takes Entire program as input	Interpreter Takes Single instruction as input .
2	Intermediate Object Code is Generated	No Intermediate Object Code is Generated
3	Conditional Control Statements are Executes faster	Conditional Control Statements are Executes slower
4	Memory Requirement : More (Since Object Code is Generated)	Memory Requirement is Less
5	Program need not be compiled every time	Every time higher level program is converted into lower level program
6	Errors are displayed after entire program is checked	Errors are displayed for every instruction interpreted (if any)
7	Example : C Compiler	Example : BASIC