• thingsiplay@lemmy.ml
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    24 hours ago

    Compiler does not mean it will produce machine code, it just means the entire program is analyzed in its full and converted to something else (usually machine code, but it could be from JavaScript into TypeScript in example).

    Interpreter on the other hand takes source code and compiles one line after another in realtime. In terms of programming languages, depending on the environment it can produce machine code or call a function from another program. It can but does not have to produce machine code.

    There is also Bytecode and Just in Time compilation, which makes it even more confusing to explain.

    • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
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      24 hours ago

      I don’t know what to say other than your description doesn’t match the opening paragraphs on Wikipedia (which I linked earlier), which AFAIK match the common meaning of the terms. The existence of cross-compilation really muddies the water here, so to clarify, in this context when I’m talking about compilation I’m talking about compiling to machine code that can run natively on the hardware in question (CPU or GPU). Compiling to anything else (bytecode, different programming language, whatever) is irrelevant for the discussion IMO.

      And interpreters do not compile to machine code. If they do, it’s called JIT compilation, not interpretation.