2.5 Programming languages and integrated development environments

Question 1

characteristics of high level languages

Answer 1

• independent of hardware
• translated using a compiler or interpreter
• one statement translates into many machine code instructions
• less memory efficient than low level languages
• code is faster to execute
• quicker and easier to understand and write
• programmer has many different data structures to use

Question 2

characteristics of low level languages

Answer 2

• one instruction translates to one machine code instruction
• code works on one type of processor
• programmer works with memory directly
• code harder to understand and write
• more memory efficient
• code slower to execute

Question 3

examples of low level languages

Answer 3

assembly code
machine code

Question 4

What translates assembly code into machine code

Answer 4

An assembler

Question 5

what is the purpose of a translator

Answer 5

converts high-level code into machine code or binary to enable the code to be run

Question 6

main feature of a compiler

Answer 6

the whole program is translated before it is run

Question 7

main feature of an interpreter

Answer 7

program is translated line by line as the program is running

Question 8

advantages of an interpreter

Answer 8

• easy to write source code as the program will always run, stopping when it finds a syntax error
• code does not need to be recompiled when changed and it is easy to try out commands when the program has paused after finding an error
• is not specific to one type of processor

Question 9

disadvantages of an interpreter

Answer 9

• translation software is needed at run-time
• slow code execution
• code is not optimised
• source code is not kept secret

Question 10

advantages of a compiler

Answer 10

• no need for translation software at run time
• quick code execution
• code is optimised
• source code is kept secret
• produces an executable file so the original code does not need to be compiled again

Question 11

disadvantages of a compiler

Answer 11

• source code is easier to write but the program will run with syntax errors
• code needs to be recompiled when the code is changed
• it is designed for a specific processor

Question 12

what is an IDE

Answer 12

integrated development software

• software that performs the various stages of software design and implementation in a single integrated system. includes tool that aid a programmer developing code

Question 13

what are the four aids that IDEs provide

Answer 13

• editor
• error diagnostics
• run-time environment
• translators

Question 14

what aids does the editor supply

Answer 14

• find and replace all occurrences of text typed in by the user
• auto-indent statements
• auto complete sentences
• colour code key words (if, for)
• formatting source code

Question 15

explain what is meant by a run time error

Answer 15

an error which will be detected when the program is run (eg. division by 0). it is not a syntax error and may be caused by erroneous use inputs

Question 16

what aids do error diagnostics supply

Answer 16

• highlights syntax errors
• gives location and description of run time errors
• watch window (displays the value of variables as they change)
• breakpoints can be set

Question 17

what aids does the run time environment supply

Answer 17

• a separate window opens up to display prompts for the user to enter values and display results
• allows a program to run on a computer, even if it is not designed to run on it (meaning a program can be developed in different systems and still work)

Question 18

what aid does the IDE provide: translator

Answer 18

the IDE will either use a compiler or interpreter to translate the high level code into machine code

Question 19

define the term: run time environment

Answer 19

a feature of an IDE that provides a platform to test and run programs

Question 20

define the term error diagnostics

Answer 20

tools provided by an IDE to give feedback about syntax errors in the source code