Python Interpreter - Difference between Compiler & Interpreter - Python Tutorials

In our series of Python tutorials previously we discussed about the Basics of Python and Installation of Python in video tutorials as well. Here in this part lets discuss about Python Interpreters.

Interpreter and Compiler:

            As a software developer, we use different types of programming languages such as C, C++, Java, Python depends upon our requirement. We all know that the programming languages which a human can understand are called as high-level programming language.

But:

The computer understands only machine learning, Hence it is needed to convert or translate the code into the machine language.

Interpreter and Compilers are used to convert the source code into the machine code.

What is an Interpreter?

The interpreter is nothing but a program which reads and executes the code. It includes different types of codes such as Source code, Compiler code. Most common interpreters available are Python, Ruby and PERL in which they execute their respective codes.

What is Python Interpreter?

Python Interpreter is same as we defined in Interpreter, It executes the respective Python codes.

Python Interpreter Architecture:

What is compiler?

Compiler is nothing but a program which translates the program written in a programming language to a code which the machine understands or machine language.

Compiler Architecture:

Phases of Compiler:

What is the difference between Compiler and Interpreter?

Interpreter	Compiler
Interpreter can able to translate one statement at a time.	Compiler works differently, It scans the whole program at first and translates it to the machine code.
Interpreter works faster in analyzing the source code of the program but ends up in slower overall execution time.	Compiler acts vice versa here, It takes more time to analyze the code but here you can expect faster execution time while comparing it with Interpreter.
Best part of Interpreter is it requires less memory because there is no need for intermediate object code.	Compiler needs an intermediate object code to be generated which lies in more memory requirement.
Debugging is easy here because interpreter bubbles up the error only after it met the first error.	As said in the first point, It scans the whole program, hence it generates the error report once the whole program is scanned. Thus the debugging part is hard.
Used by: Python, Ruby	Used by: C, C++

Points to Remember:

• High level programming languages need to be translated into machine language.
• Interpreter and Compilers are used to convert the source code into the machine code.
• Most common interpreters are Python, Ruby and PERL
• Interpreters are used by Python & Ruby
• Compilers are used by C, C++

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiler

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpreter_%28computing%29