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Most compilers translate source code written in a high level language to object code or machine language that may be directly executed by a computer or a virtual machine. However, translation from a low level language to a high level one is also possible; this is normally known as a decompiler if it is reconstructing a high level language which (could have) generated the low level language. Compilers also exist which translate from one high level language to another, or sometimes to an intermediate language that still needs further processing; these are sometimes known as cascader s.
Typical compilers output so-called objects that basically contain machine code augmented by information about the name and location of entry points and external calls (to functions not contained in the object). A set of object files, which need not have all come from a single compiler provided that the compilers used share a common output format, may then be linked together to create the final executable which can be run directly by a user.
Several experimental compilers were developed in the 1950s, but the FORTRAN team led by John Backus at IBM is generally credited as having introduced the first complete compiler, in 1957. COBOLCOBOL is a second-generation programming language. Its name is an acronym, for CO mmon B usiness O riented L anguage defining its primary domain in business, finance, and administrative systems for companies and governments. Prehistory and specification C was an early language to be compiled on multiple architectures, in 1960Events January-February January 1 Independence of Cameroon January 9 Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt January 11 Chad declares its independence. January 14 Ralph Chubb, the gay poet and printer, dies at Fair Oak Cottage in Hampshire. January 23. [1]
The idea of compilation quickly caught on, and most of the principles of compiler design were developed during the 1960sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around.
A compiler is itself a computer program written in some implementation language. Early compilers were written in assembly languageThis article is about a computing term. See Assembler (disambiguation) for other meanings''. An assembler is a computer program for translating assembly language — essentially, a mnemonic representation of machine language — into object code. A cross asse. The first self-hosting compiler -- capable of compiling its own source code in a high-level language -- was created for LispLisp is a family of functional programming languages with a long history. Developed first as an abstract notation for recursive functions, it later became the favored language of artificial intelligence research during the field's heyday in the 1970s and by Hart and Levin at MIT in 1962Events January January 1 Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand January 3 Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro January 4 New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board January 8 Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is e. [2] The use of high-level languages for writing compilers gained added impetus in the early 1970sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Events and trends when Pascal and C compilers were written in their own languages (you then have a bootstrapping problem - how do you get the first version of the compiler working?).
During the 1990s a large number of free compilers and compiler development tools have been developed for all kinds of languages, both as part of the GNU project and other open-source initiatives. Some of them are considered to be of high quality and their free source code makes a nice read for anyone interested in modern compiler concepts.