LAST UPDATED: JULY 19, 2023
Difference between Compiler and Interpreter
In this tutorial, we will learn about the difference between a Compiler and an Interpreter.
You must have noticed, many programming languages have compilers to compile the code, whereas many programming languages have interpreters to interpret the code written in those languages.
What is a Compiler?
A compiler is computer software that interprets a program written in a high-level language like FORTRAN, PL/I, COBOL, and other similar languages. It may convert it to a low-level language, such as machine language, in the same program. In addition, the compiler detects numerous problems that occur during the compilation of a program.
Various steps are used by the compiler to transform high-level language into low-level language. A customer-supplied character stream is processed via many phases of compilation, culminating in the output of the target language.
Compiler's Benefits
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The compiler has a number of benefits, which are as follows:
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A compiler converts a program in one step.
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It takes up less time.
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The CPU is being used more.
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Syntactic and semantic faults may both be checked at the same time.
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Many high-level languages, such as C, C++, JAVA, and others, readily support it.
What is an Interpreter?
An interpreter is a program that, rather than just translating computer code into another format, actually executes it. It performs one-by-one translation and execution of computer language statements. In comparison to a compiler, an interpreter requires less time to interpret a source program.
Benefits of Using an Interpreter
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The interpreter has a number of benefits, including the following:
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The software is translated line by line by an interpreter.
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The size of the interpreter is smaller.
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It is adaptable.
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It's much simpler to pinpoint the source of an error.
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The interpreter makes it easier to put computer programming language constructs into practice.
Comparison Table Between Compiler and Interpreter
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Compiler
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Interpreter
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- A compiler translates the entire source code in a single run.
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- An interpreter translates the entire source code line by line.
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- It consumes less time i.e., it is faster than an interpreter.
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- It consumes much more time than the compiler i.e., it is slower than the compiler.
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- CPU utilization is less as compared to the compiler.
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- Both syntactic and semantic errors can be checked simultaneously.
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- Only syntactic errors are checked.
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- Interpreters are often smaller than compilers.
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- The localization of errors is difficult.
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- The localization of error is easier than the compiler.
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- A presence of an error can cause the whole program to be re-organized.
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- A presence of an error causes only a part of the program to be re-organized.
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- The compiler is used by the language such as C, C++.
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- An interpreter is used by languages such as Java.
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