| Keyword | Definition |
|---|---|
| Assemblers | Programs that convert assembly language code, which is a low-level language that is closer to machine code, into machine code that can be executed by a computer. They are typically used to write system-level code or to optimize performance, and are able to generate machine code that is more efficient than code generated by a compiler. |
| Compilers | Programs that translate source code written in a high-level programming language into machine code that can be executed by a computer. They convert the entire source code into machine code at once, and generate a standalone executable file that can be run without the need for an interpreter. |
| Intermediate code | a representation of a program that is not in the native machine code of a particular processor, but can be executed by a virtual machine or other interpreter. |
| Interpreters | Programs that execute instructions written in a high-level programming language by converting them into machine code at runtime. They read and execute instructions in the source code one at a time, without the need for a separate compilation step. |
| Machine code | The native language of a computer, consisting of binary instructions that can be directly executed by the computer's CPU. |
| Translators | Programs or software that convert high-level source code into machine code, or to convert code written in one programming language into another. |
