How do Compilers work? Understanding how the software works

The compiler is a program that is used to change the source code that was written in a particular language into another language. The transformation of the source code is necessary in order to create an executable program. This is very useful nowadays since there are so many operating systems nowadays, that it is necessary to have a compiler to make it possible that the program runs on particular computers. This is known as a cross compiler. The compiler has a number of uses. It can be used to do lexical analysis, parsing, code generation, optimization and many others.

A compiler comes with different parts. They help in transforming or bridging the high level language into a machine readable code. What it does is determine if the syntax of the programs across is all correct, create an object code, organize the run time and format an output depending on conventions. It consists of a front end where semantics and syntax are checked. This is also where the type checking is being done. When the program enters the middle end, the optimization will occur and here, the useless codes are removed. The back end is used to translate the IR from the middle end. The variables will also be selected for particular registers.

Some programming languages require a compiler while others don't. One example of language that requires a compiler is PHP. JavaScript on the other hand does not require a particular compiler. With PHP, it is normally called a server based language and it has to communicate with the server on the web so that the file systems can be accessed. To do this, the compiler will transform the code with something that can be understood by the web browser. When you look at something like JavaScript, we are looking at a client based language that is executed by the browser. In this case, the browser is the compiler.

Let us look at the C and C++ and how the compiler works on them. The code cannot run on its own since it is standing on the source file.  The code must be translated to something that the machine can read. What the compiler does is to check all the syntax on the program. It is being read as 1 and 0.

There are so many kinds of compilers that are being used depending on the programming language that is used by the programmer. There are compilers for Basic, C, C#, C++, Common Lisp, ECMAScript, Fortran, Haskell, Pascal, Scheme, SmallTalk, CIL and Open Source. Most of not all are available for Windows OS and a small portion to Unix types. There are open source licenses, proprietary licenses and others. It is necessary to use the one that is most appropriate for your intended use. Nonetheless, there are several active compilers that can be used. It is necessary to have a solid understanding of the compilers. This is a key piece of software that is necessary to transform your elaborate code to a functional program.