2.5 - Programming Languages and IDEs

2.5.1 - Languages

Characteristics and Purposes of Different Levels of Programming Language

High-Level Languages:

• Easier/quicker for humans to write

• Easier/quicker to read/understand/remember

• Easier/quicker to maintain/debug/spot errors because it is closer to English

• Less code to write because one High-Level Language instruction represents many assembly instructions

• Less memory efficient

• Can be slower to execute if not optimised for the particular processor

Low-Level Languages:

• Code for the CPU to execute
• Not readily understandable by humans
• Binary instructions
• Specific to a particular computer/not portable to different systems
• Does not need to be translated before being executed
• Can be quicker to execute the instructions
• Memory efficient
• Requires the programmer to understand the processors structure

The Purpose of Translators:

The ^^processor^^ can only understand machine code.

The purpose of translators is to:

• Translate the high level code into machine code

• Pick up syntax errors

The Characteristics of a Compiler and an Interpreter:

Compiler:

• Converts high level code to machine code in one go
• Creates an executable file for the computer
• Used when the software is going to be distributed
• Users have no access to the source code so no-one can edit/steal/copy the code/program
• Used for error detection - errors are all reported after the code is compiled

Interpreter:

• Converts high level code to machine code line by line
• Used to test the program and find errors
• The program stops running when it finds and error and shows the location of the error when found
• It is quicker to re-interpret than to recompile

2.5.2 - The Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Common Tools and Facilities Available in an IDE:

• ^^Editors^^ - enables the code to be entered/edited
• ^^Error Diagnostics^^ - displays information about errors/location of errors and suggests solutions
• ^^Run-Time Environment^^ - enables the program to be run/tested and can check for runtime errors
• ^^Translators^^ - translated the high level code into machine code