meaning of compiler

1. One who compiles; esp. , one who makes books by compilation.
2. compiler tool> A program that converts another program from some source language or programming language to machine language object code. Some compilers output assembly language which is then converted to machine language by a separate assembler. A compiler is distinguished from an assembler by the fact that each input statement does not, in general, correspond to a single machine instruction or fixed sequence of instructions. A compiler may support such features as automatic allocation of variables, arbitrary arithmetic expressions, control structures such as FOR and WHILE loops, variable scope, input/ouput operations, higher-order functions and portability of source code. AUTOCODER, written in 1952, was possibly the first primitive compiler. Laning and Zierlers compiler, written in 1953-1954, was possibly the first true working algebraic compiler. See also byte-code compiler, native compiler, optimising compiler.
3. computer science a program that decodes instructions written in a higher order language and produces an assembly language program

Related Words

compiler | compiler compiler | compiler jock | compiler language for information processing | compiler target language | compiler-compiler |

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