Compilers usually use programming languages such as C, C++ and Java. Compilers translate programming language into another language understood by computers.Ĭompilers are so named because of the way they work - they compile all lines of code together and transform them into machine code all at once. But this language cannot be understood by computer processors, which can only process binary language or machine code. Programming: What's the Difference? (With FAQs) How do compilers work?Ĭomputer programmers write their programmes with words or phrases in common languages. This means that an interpreted code may run slower than a compiled code. A compiler is a programme that transforms high-level programming code into machine code that computers can process.Īn interpreter also translates lines of code into machine code but does this translation one at a time. To understand the differences between a compiler and an interpreter, it's important to first examine their individual definitions.