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•   A high-level language is easier to maintain.

                 •   A high-level language is problem-oriented rather than machine-based.
                 •   Programs  written  in  a  high-level  language  can  be  translated  into  machine  language  and
                   therefore it can run on any computer with an appropriate translator.
                 •   Programs developed in high-level languages can run on any computer, i.e., they are machine-
                   independent.
                 Disadvantages of High-Level Languages

                 •   A  high-level  language  has  to  be  translated  into  machine  language  by  a  translator,  which
                   wastes a lot of the computer's time.

                 •   The object code generated by a translator might be inefficient as compared to an equivalent
                   assembly language program.

                  i +  LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR

                 A language translator is software that converts a high-level language program into a machine
                 language that computer understands. There are mainly three types of language translators:
                 Assembler

                 An assembler is a program used to translate assembly language (LLL) into machine language so
                 that the computer can understand it.

                 Compiler

                 A compiler is a program that converts the entire source code written in HLL into machine language
                 (object code) before executing it. It converts the entire program into machine language at once.
                 It displays the errors for the whole program together. The debugging stage cannot start until the
                 program is fully compiled. Errors are only viewable after compilation.
                 Some programming languages that uses compilers are C, C++, COBOL, FORTRAN and JAVA.
                 Interpreter

                 An interpreter reads one line of instruction at a time and translates it into machine language. Any
                 error in the instruction is reported immediately and the programmer can correct it accordingly.
                 It is slower than the compiler. It reads a code statement, converts it to one or more machine
                 language instructions, and then executes them. It displays the errors for one line at a time, and
                 it goes to the next line only after the error is corrected.
                 Unlike compilers, interpreters do not need to compile the code prior to executing the instructions.
                 The translation and execution process are done simultaneously.

                 Some programming languages that uses Interpreters are Python, Java Script, Perl and Ruby.

                              3 × 2 = 6                                                Machine Code (00110)


                          High-level           Input       Language          Output           Machine
                         Language or                       Translator                        Language
                     Assembly Language




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                                                                Categories of Computers and Computer Languages
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