IDE (integrated development environment) Flashcards
Editor
Allows a programmer to enter, format and edit source code
Compiler
Converts source code into executable machine code. Once compiled, a program can
be run at any time
Interpreter
Converts each line of source code into machine code, and executes it as each line of
code is run. The conversion process is performed each time the program needs to be
run
Linker
A program which allows previously compiled code, from software libraries, to be
linked together
Loader
A program which loads previously compiled code into memory
Debugger
A program which helps locate, identify and rectify errors in a program
Trace
A facility which displays the order in which the lines of a program are executed, and
possibly the values of variables as the program is being run
Break point
A facility which interrupts a program on a specific line of code, allowing the
programmer to compare the values of variables against expected values. The
program code can then usually be executed one line at a time. This is called single-
stepping
Variable watch
A facility that displays the current value of any variable. The value can be ‘watched’
as the program code is single-stepped to see the effects of the code on the variable.
Alternatively a variable watch may be set, which will interrupt the program flow if
the watched variable reaches a specified value
Memory inspector
A facility which will display the contents of a section of memory
Error diagnostics
Used when a program fails to compile or to run. Error messages are displayed to
help the programmer diagnose what has gone wrong
Program compilation order: (translator)
Lexical analysis Syntax analysis Semantic analysis Code generation Optimisation
Lexical analysis
- Comments and unneeded spaces are removed.
- Keywords, constants and identifiers are replaced by ‘tokens’.
- A symbol table is created which holds the addresses of variables, labels and subroutines.
Syntax analysis
- Tokens are checked to see if they match the spelling and grammar expected, using standard language definitions. This is done by parsing each token to determine if it uses the correct syntax for the programming language.
- If syntax errors are found, error messages are produced.
Semantic analysis
• Variables are checked to ensure that they have been properly declared and used.
• Variables are checked to ensure that they are of the correct data type, e.g. real values are not being assigned to integers.
• Operations are checked to ensure that they are legal for the type of variable being
used, e.g. you would not try to store the result of a division operation as an integer.
