History of compiler construction

History of computing
Hardware
Hardware before 1960 Hardware 1960s to present
Software
Software Software configuration management Unix Free software and open-source software
Computer science
Artificial intelligence Compiler construction Early computer science Operating systems Programming languages Prominent pioneers Software engineering
Modern concepts
General-purpose CPUs Graphical user interface Internet Laptops Personal computers Video games World Wide Web Cloud Quantum
By country
Bulgaria Eastern Bloc Poland Romania South America Soviet Union Yugoslavia
Timeline of computing
before 1950 1950–1979 1980–1989 1990–1999 2000–2009 2010–2019 2020–present more timelines ...
Glossary of computer science
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v t e

In computing, a compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language or computer language (the source language), into another computer language (the target language, often having a binary form known as object code or machine code). The most common reason for transforming source code is to create an executable program.

Any program written in a high-level programming language must be translated to object code before it can be executed, so all programmers using such a language use a compiler or an interpreter. Improvements to a compiler may lead to a large number of improved features in executable programs.

The Production Quality Compiler-Compiler, in the late 1970s, introduced the principles of compiler organization that are still widely used today (e.g., a front-end handling syntax and semantics and a back-end generating machine code).