Interpreters
Computer Science: OCR A Level, topic 2.2.11
Interpreters
Interpreters are a type of translator which converts high level languages to executable machine code.
Interpreters
- Interpreters translate high-level source code into executable binary one line at a time.
- Python and JavaScript are examples of interpreted languages.
Pros of interpreters
- Interpreters will stop as soon as they encounter an error:
- This is useful for debugging.
- Interpreted languages are 'portable':
- This means that they can be run on many different types of central processing unit as long as there is an interpreter available for the platform.
Cons of interpreters
- Running an interpreted program is slower than a compiled program because we have to translate each line every time we run the software.
- But it is quicker to get started which can be good for small changes.
- Interpreters do not produce a compiled program file:
- The process must be repeated each time the program is run.