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Return to Compilers, Compilation, Compiling, Compiler

Short description: Programming language which is converted (compiled) into executable code

Compiled languages are a category of programming languages that are transformed into machine code by a compiler before they are executed by a computer's central processing unit (CPU). Unlike interpreted languages, which are read and executed by an interpreter at runtime, compiled languages are pre-processed into a form that computers can directly understand and execute, typically resulting in faster execution times and more efficient use of system resources. This article provides an overview of compiled languages, including their characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and examples.

Compiled languages are defined by their compilation process, which involves several steps: lexical analysis, parsing, semantic analysis, optimization, and code generation. During this process, the source code written by the developer is translated into machine code or an intermediate form (like bytecode for Java) that can later be executed by the machine. This process is typically performed by a compiler, a specialized program designed to read the high-level source code and produce a lower-level, optimized, executable code.

One of the primary advantages of compiled languages is their execution speed. Because the source code is pre-compiled into machine code, which the CPU can directly execute, programs written in compiled languages tend to run faster than those interpreted at runtime. Additionally, the compilation process allows for optimization of the executable code, which can further improve performance and efficiency.

However, compiled languages also have disadvantages. The compilation process can be time-consuming, especially for large projects, which can slow down the development cycle. Furthermore, the compiled executable is platform-specific, meaning a program compiled for one operating system or hardware architecture may not run on another without recompilation.

Examples of compiled languages include C, C++, Rust, Go, and Fortran. Each of these languages is designed for specific use cases, ranging from system programming to application development, and they offer various features and tools to meet the needs of developers.

C is one of the oldest and most widely used compiled languages. It provides a straightforward, efficient approach to programming, with direct access to memory and system resources, making it ideal for system-level programming, embedded systems, and applications requiring high performance.

C++ builds on C, adding object-oriented features and more complex abstractions, which allow for the development of large-scale applications and systems. It maintains the efficiency and control of C while providing tools for managing complexity.

Rust is a newer compiled language that emphasizes safety, speed, and concurrency. It aims to provide memory safety without using a garbage collector, making it suitable for systems programming and applications where performance and reliability are critical.

Go, also known as Golang, is designed for simplicity and efficiency, particularly in the context of concurrent programming and networked services. It offers garbage collection, a rich standard library, and a straightforward syntax, making it popular for cloud services and distributed systems.

Fortran, one of the earliest programming languages, is still widely used in scientific and numerical computing. It offers powerful features for array manipulation and mathematical computations, making it a staple in areas such as computational physics and engineering.

The compilation process is a multi-stage pipeline that transforms high-level source code into executable machine code. This process includes several key phases: lexical analysis breaks the source code into tokens; parsing builds a syntactic structure; semantic analysis checks for correctness; optimization improves the code's efficiency; and code generation produces the final executable.

Optimization during compilation involves modifying the code to improve its performance or reduce its resource consumption without changing its output. Optimizations can include eliminating unnecessary calculations, reusing intermediate results, and choosing the most efficient algorithms for the task at hand.

Cross-compilation is the process of compiling code on one platform to produce executables that run on a different platform. This is particularly useful in developing software for embedded systems or when targeting multiple operating systems from a single codebase.

Compiled languages can be statically or dynamically typed. Statically typed languages require type declarations and enforce type checking at compile time, leading to more predictable code and potentially fewer runtime errors. Dynamically typed languages, while more flexible, defer type checking to runtime, which can introduce errors that are harder to detect early in the development process.

Memory management in compiled languages can be manual or automatic. Languages like C and C++ require developers to explicitly allocate and deallocate memory, offering more control but also introducing the risk of memory leaks and other errors. Languages like Go use automatic garbage collection to manage memory, reducing manual overhead but at the cost of potential performance overhead.

The compilation process allows for early detection of syntax and semantic errors, as the compiler analyzes the code in detail. This early error detection helps developers fix issues before runtime, contributing to more robust and error-free applications.

While compiled executables are platform-specific, many compiled languages offer a high degree of source code portability. Source code written in languages like C or C++ can often be compiled to run on a wide range of hardware and operating systems with minimal changes, making these languages popular choices for cross-platform development.

Compiled languages often provide mechanisms for interoperability with other programming languages, allowing developers to leverage libraries and code written in different languages. For example, C and C++ libraries can be called from languages like Python or Java, combining the performance benefits of compiled languages with the ease of use of interpreted languages.

The ecosystem around compiled languages includes a wide range of development tools, including integrated development environments (IDEs), debuggers, and performance profilers. These tools support the development process, from writing and debugging code to optimizing performance.

The communities surrounding compiled languages are vast and active, offering extensive resources for learning and troubleshooting. From official documentation and tutorials to forums and open-source projects, developers have access to a wealth of knowledge and support.

The landscape of compiled languages continues to evolve, with new languages and features being developed to address modern programming challenges. Trends include increased focus on safety and concurrency, as well as efforts to improve compile times and runtime performance. As computing hardware and software requirements become more complex, compiled languages are adapting to meet these needs, ensuring their continued relevance in the software development ecosystem.

Compiled languages play a crucial role in the software development landscape, offering a blend of performance, efficiency, and control that is essential for many types of applications. From system-level programming to high-performance computing, these languages offer the tools and features that developers need to build reliable, efficient, and scalable software solutions.

A compiled language is a programming language whose programming language implementation - implementations are typically compilers (translators that generate machine code from source code), and not interpreter (computing) (interpreters) (step-by-step executors of source code, where no pre-runtime translation takes place).

The term is somewhat vague. In principle, any language can be implemented with a compiler or with an interpreter.¹⁾ A combination of both solutions is also common: a compiler can translate the source code into some intermediate form (often called Byte code or p-code or bytecode), which is then passed to an interpreter which executes it.

Programs compiled into native code at compile time tend to be faster than those translated at runtime due to the translation process's overhead. Newer technologies such as just-in-time compilation, and general improvements in the translation process are starting to narrow this gap, though. Mixed solutions using bytecode tend toward intermediate efficiency.

Low-level programming languages are typically compiled, especially when efficiency is the main concern, rather than cross-platform support. For such languages, there are more one-to-one correspondences between the programmed code and the hardware operations performed by machine code, making it easier for programmers to control the use of central processing unit (CPU) and memory in fine detail.

With some effort, it is always possible to write compilers even for traditionally interpreted languages. For example, Common Lisp can be compiled to Java bytecode (then interpreted by the Java virtual machine), C code (then compiled to native machine code), or directly to native code. Programming languages that support multiple compiling targets give developers more control to choose either execution speed or cross-platform compatibility.

Some languages that are commonly considered to be compiled:

• Ada
• ALGOL
  • ALGOL 60
  • ALGOL 68
  • SMALL
• BASIC
  • PowerBasic
  • Visual Basic (to bytecode)
  • PureBasic
• C - C compiler
• C++ - C++ compiler
• C# - C# compiler (to bytecode)
• CLEO
• COBOL - COBOL compiler
• Cobra
• Crystal
• D
• eC
• Eiffel
  • Sather
  • Ubercode
• Erlang - Erlang compiler (to bytecode)
• F# (to bytecode)
• Factor (later versions)
• Forth
• Fortran - Fortran compiler
• Go - Golang compiler
• Haskell - Haskell compiler
• Haxe (to bytecode or C++)
• Java - Java compiler (to bytecode)
  • Clojure - Clojure compiler²⁾
  • Scala - Scala compiler
  • Kotlin - Kotlin compiler
• JOVIAL
• Julia - Julia compiler (through Just-in-time compilation (JIT)
• LabVIEW, G
• Lisp
  • Common Lisp
• Mercury
• ML
  • Standard ML
    • Alice
  • OCaml
• Nim (to C, C++, or Objective-C)
• Pascal - Pascal compiler - Borland Pascal compiler
  • Object Pascal
    • Delphi
    • Free Pascal / Lazarus
  • Modula-2
  • Modula-3
  • Oberon
• Objective-C - Objective-C compiler
• PL/I
• RPG - RPG compiler
• Rust - Rust compiler
• Seed7
• SPITBOL
• Swift - Swift compiler
• Vala
• Visual Foxpro
• Visual Prolog
• W
• Zig

• ANTLR
• Lex (software) - Lex
• Flex lexical analyser - Flex
• GNU bison
• Yacc

• Compiler
• List of programming languages by type - List of compiled languages
• Interpreter (computing)
• Scripting language

Research:

• Compiled language on DuckDuckGo
• Compiled language on O'Reilly
• Compiled language on GitHub
• Compiled language on Reddit
• Compiled language on StackOverflow
• Compiled language on YouTube

Fair Use Sources:

• Compiled language on DuckDuckGo