languages and IDEs

low-level languages

a programming language that directly translates to machine code understood by the processor

2 examples of low level languages

machine code, assembly language

machine code

written in binary code, instructions are directly executable by the processor

assembly code

written using mnemonics and abbreviated text commands.

what do machine code and assembly code have and what does this mean

one to one correspondence. one assembly language instruction = one machine code instruction

advantages of low level languages

occupy less memory, can manipulate hardware

disadvantages of low level systems

difficult to write and understand, machine dependent, more prone to errors

high level languages

coding language that is aimed at humans and uses English like statements and known maths operators . must be translated before it can be run

advantages of high level languages

easier to read and write, easier to debug, not machine dependent, one line on code performs multiple commands

disadvantages of high level languages

can’t manipulate hardware, may be less efficient, needs to be translated to machine code before running

what is a translator

a program that translates program source code into machine code so that it can executed directly by a processor

what is used to translate low level languages

assembler

what is used to translate high level languages

compiler or interpreter

what is a compiler

translates high-level languages into machine code all in one go and provides an executable file

what is an interpreter

An interpreter translates high-level languages into machine code one line at a time

what happens if the interpreter finds an error

the process stops

advantages of compiler

speed of execution, source code will not be seen and translated code used, optimises the code

disadvantages of compiler

memory intensive, difficult to debug, changes mean it has to be recompiled, it is designed for one specific processor

advantages of interpreter

stops when it finds a specific syntax error, requires less RAM to process code , easier to debug

disadvantages of interpreter

slower execution, no optimisation, has to be translated every time it is run

what does an IDE do

provides programmers with the facilities to help create programs

facilities / tools of an IDE

editor, compilers and interpreters, error diagnostics and debugger, run-time environment

what does an editor do

allow a programmer to enter and edit the source code

features of an editor

automatic formatting , automatic line numbering, automatic colour coding, statement completion

what does error diagnostics do

identifies errors and highlights part of code or provides error messages for where the error appeared

what does debugger do

provides step by step instructions for the code to see what is happening at each line

2 components of debugger

watch window, breakpoint

what does the breakpoint do

pauses execution for a specific line to inspect variables and the code

what does a watch window do

displays the current value of a selected variable

what does a run time environment do

gives the users the ability to run and see the corresponding output of a high level language

what does IDE stand for

integrated development environment

component of debugger

trace

what does trace do

logs the values of variables and outputs of the program as the code is executed line by line