Show
Translators and facilities of languagesTranslators are needed to translate programs written in high level languages into the machine code that a computer understands. Tools exist to help programmers develop error-free code. Any program written in a high level
language is known as source code. However, computers cannot understand source code. Before it can be run, source code must first be
translated into a form which a computer understands - this form is called object code. A
translator is a program that converts source code into object code. Generally, there are three types of translator: A compiler takes the source code as a whole and translates it into object code all in one go. Once converted, the object code can be run unassisted at any time. This process is called
compilation. Compilers have several advantages: Compilers have several disadvantages:
InterpretersAn interpreter translates source code into object code one instruction at a time. It is similar to a human translator translating what a person says into another language, sentence by sentence, as they speak. The resulting object code is then executed immediately. The process is called interpretation. Interpreters have several advantages:
Interpreters also have several disadvantages:
AssemblersAssemblers are a third type of translator. The purpose of an assembler is to translate assembly language into object code. Whereas compilers and interpreters generate many machine code instructions for each high level instruction, assemblers create one machine code instruction for each assembly instruction.
GCSE Subjects
Will translate a personal characteristic into a digital code that is used to compare with a digital code stored in the computer?The technique is called “biometrics”.
How do computers read code?Machine code, also known as machine language, is the elemental language of computers. It is read by the computer's central processing unit (CPU), is composed of digital binary numbers and looks like a very long sequence of zeros and ones.
|