A program that translates source code into a format the computer can execute.
Details
Computers cannot directly understand source code — the human-readable instructions written by programmers. To be executed, this code must be converted into machine code, a low-level representation that the computer’s central processing unit (CPU) can process directly.
A compiler performs this translation. It reads the entire source code, analyzes it, and generates an executable program. During this process, the compiler also checks for errors and optimizes the code to run efficiently.
Compiled programs can run independently of the compiler itself, since the translation happens before execution. This differs from interpreted languages, where the code is translated and executed line by line at runtime.
Related Concepts
- Uses: Programming Language