LARA

Alternatives to compilation?

Interpreter is a program that reads source code and directly executes it

  • does not generate the translation of the source program first

Advantages of compilers over interpreters:

  • once compiled, execution can be much faster
    • 'carefully prepare' program for fast execution
  • better semantic checks: examine the entire program

and report errors before program is run

Just-in-time compiler (e.g. Java virtual machine)

  • starts by interpreting the program
  • later compiles the parts where speed is critical

At the end of course, we will say a few words about