A compiler translates human-readable text into computer language. Early compilers were simple, but as more people wrote programs, compilers became more sophisticated and specialized. Syntax errors are like spelling errors, while logic errors are more difficult to spot. Cross-compiling allows programs to run on different computers, but emulation is slower.
A compiler is a special type of computer program that translates a human-readable text file into a form that the computer can more easily understand. At its most basic level, a computer can only understand two things, a 1 and a 0. At this level, a human will operate very slowly and find the information contained in the long string of 1s and 0s unintelligible. A compiler is a program for computer that fills this gap.
In the beginning, compilers were very simple programs that could translate symbols only into the bits, the 1s and 0s, the computer understood. The programs were also very simple, consisting of a series of steps that were originally translated by hand into data that the computer could understand. This was a very time-consuming task, so parts of this task were automated or programmed, and the first compiler was written. This program has assembled or compiled the steps needed to run the program step by step.
These simple compilers were used to write a more sophisticated compiler. With the latest version, more rules can be added to the compiler program to allow the human programmer to operate with a more natural language structure. This made it easier to write programs and allowed more people to start writing programs. As more and more people started writing programs, more ideas about writing programs were offered and used to create more sophisticated compilers. In this way, compiler programs continue to evolve, improve, and become easier to use.
Compiler programs can also be specialized. Some language frameworks are better suited for a particular task than others, so specific compilers have been developed for specific tasks or languages. Some compilers are multistage or multiple. A first step could be taking a very natural language and bringing it closer to a computer understandable language. A second or even a third step could take it to the final stage, the executable file.
The intermediate output in a multistage compiler is usually called pseudo-code, since it is not usable by the computer. Pseudocode is very structured, like a computer program, not smooth and verbose like more natural language. The final output is called an executable file, as it is what is actually done or executed by the computer. Splitting the task like this made it easier to write more sophisticated compilers, since each subtask is different. It also made it easier for the computer to point to where it was having trouble understanding what it was being asked to do.
Errors that limit the compiler’s understanding of a program are called syntax errors. Errors in the way the program works are called logical errors. Logical errors are much more difficult to spot and correct. Syntax errors are like spelling errors, while logic errors are a little more like grammatical errors.
Cross-compiling programs have also been developed. A cross compiler allows you to compile and execute a set of text file instructions written for one computer designed by one specific manufacturer for a different computer from a different manufacturer. For example, a program that was written to run on an Intel computer can sometimes be cross-compiled to run a Motorola-developed computer. This often doesn’t work very well. At the level that computer programs operate, computer hardware can look very different, even though it may look similar to you.
Cross-compiling is different from having one computer emulate another computer. If a computer emulates another computer, it pretends to be that other computer. Emulation is often slower than cross-compilation, because two programs are running at the same time, the program pretending to be the other computer and the running program. However, for cross-compiling to work, you need both the original natural language text describing the program and a computer similar enough to the original computer that the program can run on to run on a different computer. This isn’t always possible, so both techniques are in use.
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