Programming Basics

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COMPILER

Everything is translated at once.

Translates everything into machine code and stores it as machine code, e.g. a .exe file.

It is translated into machine code of a particular architecture.

Only developer needs to have the compiler.

Different compilers are required for the program to work on different systems of various architectures.

INTERPRETER

It is translated line by line.

Translates into machine code but stores it as the source code, e.g. a .py file.

Since, it is always stored as the source code, the end-user also needs to have the interpreter to run the program.

Since, the same code can be run my multiple end-users provided they have the interpreter, it is a little flexible.

Programming Languages that are meant to be interpreted are also called SCRIPTING LANGUAGES and their source code is called SCRIPT.

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Python is an interpreted, object oriented, high level programming language.

The name Python came from an old BBC comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Python is one of the few widely used high-level languages which was developed by a single person - Guido van Rossum.

It was first released in 1991.

In 1999, Guido van Rossum defined his goals for Python:

an easy and intuitive language just as powerful as those of the major competitors;

open source, so anyone can contribute to its development;

code that is as understandable as plain English;

suitable for everyday tasks, allowing for short development times.