what is interpreter in java

In Java, an interpreter is a computer program that converts high-level program statements into machine code, line by line, at runtime. It reads the input source program and translates the source program instruction by instruction. The Java interpreter is responsible for reading and executing the program, and it is designed to convert the high-level program into assembly language (machine language) . Unlike a compiler, which translates the entire source code into machine code or any intermediate code, the interpreter converts the code into machine code when the program is run. The Java interpreter is a system software that implements the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and is used to run Java bytecode (.class file) on platforms that have a Java interpreter, making Java platform-independent. The interpreter also serves as a specialized compiler in an implementation that supports dynamic or just-in-time (JIT) compilation, which turns the Java bytecode into native machine instructions. The Java interpreter works in conjunction with the Java compiler to ensure that the source programming code is first transformed into binary programming code, which is then run by the JVM.