Paper 2 Translators and Facilities of Languages

Question 1

What does the term ‘high level language’ (HLL) mean?

Answer 1

High-level languages allow programmers to write instructions in a language (such as Python) that is easier to understand than low-level languages.

Question 2

What is a translator?

Answer 2

A translator is a program that converts source code (HLL) into machine code. Generally, there are three types of translator:
compilers
interpreters
assembler

Question 3

List some of the various features of a typical IDE.

Answer 3

An IDE typically contains a code editor, a compiler or interpreter, and a debugger, accessed through a single graphical user interface (GUI).

Question 4

What is an Interpreter ?

Answer 4

An interpreter translates code into machine code, instruction by instruction - the CPU executes each instruction before the interpreter moves on to translate the next instruction. Interpreted code will show an error as soon as it hits a problem, so it is easier to debug than compiled code.

Question 5

What is a Compiler?

Answer 5

A compiler translates the whole program into machine code before the program is run. It can be difficult to test individual lines of compiled code compared to interpreted languages as all bugs are reported after the program has been compiled.

Question 6

What is an Assembler?

Answer 6

An assembler translates assembly language into machine code. Assembly language is a low-level language written in mnemonics that closely reflects the operations of the CPU.