What is a compiler?

A compiler is a program that translates source code written in a high-level programming language into machine code or another lower-level representation, typically before runtime.

What is an interpreter?

An interpreter is a program that directly executes instructions written in a programming or scripting language, without previously converting them to machine language.

What is the main difference between a compiler and an interpreter?

The main difference is that a compiler translates the entire source code into machine code before execution, while an interpreter translates and executes the source code line by line at runtime.

List some advantages of compiled languages.

• Faster execution time
• Better optimization possibilities
• No need for source code distribution
• Easier detection of certain types of errors before runtime

List some advantages of interpreted languages.

• Platform independence (write once, run anywhere)
• Easier debugging and testing
• Dynamic typing and runtime modification
• Often simpler to implement

Name some examples of commonly compiled languages.

• C
• C++
• Rust
• Go
• Fortran

Name some examples of commonly interpreted languages.

• Python
• JavaScript
• Ruby
• PHP
• Perl

What is a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler?

A JIT compiler is a hybrid approach that combines compilation and interpretation. It compiles parts of the code at runtime, just before execution, to improve performance while maintaining some benefits of interpretation.

What is lexical analysis in the context of compilation?

Lexical analysis, also known as tokenization, is the process of converting a sequence of characters in the source code into a sequence of tokens (meaningful units like keywords, identifiers, and literals).

What is parsing in the context of compilation?

Parsing is the process of analyzing the structure of the tokens produced by lexical analysis according to the grammar of the programming language, typically resulting in an abstract syntax tree (AST).