ETYM Old Eng. compiluor; cf. Old Fren. compileor, from Latin compilator.
1. Any program that transforms one set of symbols into another by following a set of syntactic and semantic rules.
2. A program that translates all the source code of a program written in a high-level language into object code prior to execution of the program. See also assembler, compile, high-level language, interpreted language, language processor, object code.
(Computer science) A program that decodes instructions written in a higher order language and produces a machine language program; SYN. compiling program.
A software tool used to translate higher-level languages (e.g., C, FORTRAN, COBOL) into machine-code instructions for a computer to execute.
Computer program that translates programs written in a high-level language into machine code (the form in which they can be run by the computer). The compiler translates each high-level instruction into several machine-code instructions—in a process called compilation—and produces a complete independent program that can be run by the computer as often as required, without the original source program being present.
Different compilers are needed for different high-level languages and for different computers. In contrast to using an interpreter, using a compiler adds slightly to the time needed to develop a new program because the machine-code program must be recompiled after each change or correction. Once compiled, however, the machine-code program will run much faster than an interpreted program.