4.2 Programming languages, translators and IDEs

By the end of this section you should be able to

• 4.2.1 Compare high-level and low-level languages
• 4.2.2 Explain assembly language and assemblers
• 4.2.3 Describe how compilers and interpreters work and report errors
• 4.2.4 Compare compilers and interpreters
• 4.2.5 Describe the features of an IDE

Lessons

1. High-level and low-level languages
2. Assembly language and assemblers
3. Compilers and interpreters
4. Integrated development environments (IDEs)

Key vocabulary

High-level language

A language close to English that is easy to read and machine independent.

Low-level language

A language close to machine code that can directly manipulate hardware.

Machine code

Binary instructions that the CPU can execute directly.

Assembly language

A low-level language that uses mnemonics.

Assembler

Translates assembly language into machine code.

Compiler

Translates the whole program at once into an executable file and reports all errors together.

Interpreter

Translates and runs code line by line, stopping at the first error.

IDE

Software for writing code, with tools such as an editor, error diagnostics and auto-completion.