Re: Are transpiling techniques different than compiling techniques?

On 10/11/21 8:23 PM, Kartik Agaram wrote:
> On a slight tangent, I've never liked the term "compiler". I prefer
> "translator". "Translator" maps well with "interpreter" when talking about
> natural languages. That seems like a good reason to also use it for
> computer languages.
>
> Bringing it back to this thread, I think the difference between compilers
> and transpilers is largely meaningless. They're both just translators.


I'd classify both like with lexer and parser by I/O type: A compiler
translates from source text into *binary* code, the other one into
another source *text*.


The "transpiler" IMO is a relict from the time when translation of human
speech was the domain of humans, to deprecate the output of translation
programs. While automated translation really sucked for decades, in the
last years I found human translations and presentations often less
precise or meaningful than automated translation.


DoDi

Return to the comp.compilers page.
Search the comp.compilers archives again.