Difference between revisions of "Compiler"
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Revision as of 20:22, 17 February 2016
A compiler is a computer program (or set of programs) that transforms source code written in a programming language (the source language) into another computer language (the target language, often having a binary form known as object code).
Contents
Description
The most common reason for converting a source code is to create an executable program.
The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that translate source code from a high-level programming language to a lower level language (e.g., assembly language or machine code). If the compiled program can run on a computer whose CPU or operating system is different from the one on which the compiler runs, the compiler is known as a cross-compiler. More generally, compilers are a specific type of translators.
A program that translates from a low level language to a higher level one is a decompiler.
A program that translates between high-level languages is usually called a source-to-source compiler or transpiler.
Language rewriter
A language rewriter is usually a program that translates the form of expressions without a change of language. The term compiler-compiler is sometimes used to refer to a parser generator, a tool often used to help create the lexer and parser.
Operations
A compiler is likely to perform many or all of the following operations:
- Lexical analysis
- Preprocessing
- Parsing
- Semantic analysis (syntax-directed translation)
- Code generation
- Code optimization
Program faults and compiler correctness
Program faults caused by incorrect compiler behavior can be very difficult to track down and work around; therefore, compiler implementors invest significant effort to ensure compiler correctness.
See also
- Code generation
- Code optimization
- Computer program
- Computer programming
- Computer science
- High-level programming language
- Lexical analysis
- Low-level programming language
- Machine code
- Object code
- Parsing
- Source code
External links
- Compiler @ Wikipedia
