What is the difference between a compiler and an interpreter?

[PhysicsBegner]

Hi,

I have a very fundamental doubt in compiler and interpreter. Compiler converts the high level programming language into machine understandle form and interpreter does the same but as line by line. So when an interpretor converts the high level language into machine codes (line by line) does it simultaneously executes in processor or only after converting the entire code into machine or opcode its executed in processor?

 

[rcgldr]

The interpreter is converting the high level language into machine language in real time. It could be doing this in fragments of a line instead of line by line, perhaps one operator at a time. There is some line oriented parsing done in order to handle the precedence (the order) of operations to be peformed. In some cases, interpreters allow the high level language to generate text to be executed as more high level language, such as the execute operator in APL. APL also allows the dynamic creation of functions from a matrix of generated text.

Compilers convert high level language into machine language or in some cases, some form of psuedo-machine language at compile time. If it's pseudo machine language, you have something similar to an interpreter to execute the psuedo machine language.