6 Types Of Languages And Translators

Question 1

What are the three types of translator?

Answer 1

1. Assembler
2. Interpreter
3. Compiler

Question 2

How do interpreters work?

Answer 2

1. Interpreters go through the source code and translate one line at a time.
2. As soon as the line has translated it is run.
3. If it reaches a syntax error the translator stops

Question 3

How do compilers work?

Answer 3

1. The compiler translates all the lines of code at once
2. If there is a syntax error nothing will be translated
3. If there isn’t then it produces an executable machine code file

Question 4

Why and what are interpreters used for?

Answer 4

1. Interpreters are used for testing.
2. They are initially faster at translating than compilers
3. They translate up to a syntax error making error trapping easy
4. The source code is processor independent

Question 5

Why and what are compilers used for?

Answer 5

1. Compilers are used for translating the final piece of code to give to a client
2. They create a machine code file so source code doesn’t have to be given out
3. Once translated the machine code runs faster
4. Once translated translation software is no longer needed

Question 6

What is a 1st generation language?

Answer 6

Machine code
Written in 1s and 0s
Code has to be written uniquely to each processor

Question 7

What is a 2nd generation language?

Answer 7

Assembly code
Translated using an assembler
Simple commands that have a direct binary equivalent
E.g. CISC instruction set

Question 8

Give an example of a 2nd generation language

Answer 8

CISC instruction set

Question 9

What is a 3rd generation language?

Answer 9

English like syntax that has no binary equivalent
Translated using interpreter or compiler
Imperative
E.g. python

Question 10

Benefits and features of a 3rd generation language

Answer 10

Easy for humans to understand.
Machine independent
Has a runtime environment
Has syntax highlighting

Question 11

What is a 4th generation language?

Answer 11

Declarative meaning written in English like commands that tell the computer what to do but not how to do it.
E.g. SQL

Question 12

What is imperative programming?

Answer 12

When the programmer writes the instructions that the computer exactly follows to execute a task

Question 13

What is declarative programming?

Answer 13

When the programmer writes commands telling the computer the information needed but not how to get it. Used in data base management

Question 14

Name 2 advantages of low level languages

Answer 14

1. Allows closer control of registers and cpu
2. Do not need translating so they run faster

Question 15

What is bytecode?

Answer 15

Also known as intermediate code bytecode is an intermediate language that is executed on virtual machines.

Question 16

What is the advantage of bytecode?

Answer 16

Allows platform independence as it can run on any computer that has the virtual machine installed.

Question 17

What is the disadvantage of bytecode?

Answer 17

Typically slower than normal code