A compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language into another language. It is a special program that converts human-written computer code into machine code. The source code is typically written in a high-level programming language, and the compiler translates it into machine code, bytecode, or another programming language. The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that translate source code from a high-level programming language to a low-level programming language (e.g. assembly language, object code, or machine code) to create an executable program.
Compilers vary in the methods they use for analyzing and converting source code to output code. Despite their differences, they typically carry out the following steps:
- Lexical analysis: The compiler splits the source code into lexemes, which are individual code fragments that represent specific patterns in the code. The lexemes are then tokenized in preparation for syntax and semantic analyses.
- Syntax analysis: The compiler checks the syntax of the source code to ensure that it conforms to the rules of the programming language.
- Semantic analysis: The compiler checks the meaning of the source code to ensure that it is semantically correct.
- Code generation: The compiler generates machine code or bytecode from the source code.
- Optimization: The compiler optimizes the generated code to improve its performance or efficiency.
A compiler is capable of creating code for a platform other than the one on which the compiler is running. It verifies all types of limits, ranges, errors, etc. . However, a compiler program takes more time to run and it occupies a huge amount of memory space. The speed of the compiler is slower than other system software.
In summary, a compiler is a program that translates source code written in one programming language into machine code or another programming language. It performs several tasks such as error detection and prevention, flow control, and optimization.
