What is the Difference Between Interpreted and Compiled Language

The main difference between interpreted and compiled language is that an interpreted language converts the source code into machine code line by line while a compiled language converts the source code into machine code at once.

A computer program is a set of instructions that instruct the CPU to perform the defined task or tasks. There are various programming languages. High-level programming languages have a syntax similar to the English language. Therefore, it is easier for the programmer to read and understand these programs. On the other hand, the machine does not understand these programs. Therefore, it is necessary to convert these programs to machine understandable machine code. Furthermore, low-level languages are one step below high-level programming languages. These languages are closer to the hardware level than high-level languages. Thus, it is necessary to convert whatever the language the programmer uses to write the program into machine code for the CPU to perform the task.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Interpreted Language
      -Definition, Functionality
2. What is Compiled Language
     -Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between Interpreted and Compiled Language
     -Comparison of key differences

Key Terms

Byte Code, Compiler, Compiler Language, Interpreter, Interpreted Language, Machine Code

What is Interpreted Language

An interpreted language is a language that is based on an interpreter. Wherein, an interpreter is a software that is capable of converting a high-level program into machine-understandable machine code. The interpreter executes the program directly and translates each statement into machine code in a sequential manner. In other words, an interpreter converts the source code into machine code line after the line. Here, the instruction set is a bytecode.

Moreover, an interpreter displays an error at a time. Therefore, the programmer should fix that error to interpret the next line. Some examples of interpreted languages are MATLAB, JavaScript, Python, R and Ruby. Furthermore, some languages are implemented using both compiler and interpreter. For example, C# and Java compile into bytecode, which is a virtual machine friendly, interpreted language.

What is Compiled Language

A language that depends on the compiler is a compiled language. Herein, a compiler is a software that converts the source code to machine code at once. If there are syntactic or semantic errors, the compiler will indicate them. However, the compiler checks the whole program and displays all errors on the console. It is not possible to execute the program without fixing the errors.

Usually, the execution time of compiled languages is lower. In other words, these languages execute faster. Therefore, these programming languages help to develop real-time embedded systems, games, operating systems, database applications which require fast processing. For example, some common compiled languages are C and C++.

Difference Between Interpreted and Compiled Language

Definition

An interpreted language is a type of programming language in which most of its implementations execute instructions directly and freely, without previously compiling a program into machine language instruction. In contrast, a compiled language is a programming language whose implementations are typically compilers, which converts the source code to machine code. Thus, this describes the fundamental difference between interpreted and compiled language.

Functionality

In overall, the main difference between interpreted and compiled language is that the interpreted languages convert a high-level program to machine code line by line while compiled languages convert a high-level program to machine code at once.

Languages

Some common interpreted languages are MATLAB, JavaScript, Python, R and Ruby while some common compiled languages are C, C++ and Objective C.

Conclusion

Programming languages can be based on an interpreter or a compiler. Some languages have both compiling and interpreting steps. The main difference between interpreted and compiled language is that an interpreted language converts the source code into machine code line by line, while a compiled language converts the source code into machine code at once.

References:

1.“Interpreted Language.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 May 2019, Available here.
2.“Compiled Language.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 May 2019, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1.”Programming languages” By Wiziq Inc. – (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia

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