What is the difference between a compiler and an interpreter?

1. A compiler translates code written in a high-level programming language into a lower-level language like assembly language, object code and machine code (binary 1 and 0 bits). It converts the code ahead of time before the program runs whereas an interpreter translates the code line-by-line when the program is running.

2. A compiler takes in the entire program and requires a lot of time to analyze the source code whereas the interpreter takes a single line of code and very little time to analyze it.

3. Compiled code runs faster, while interpreted code runs slower.

4. A compiler displays all errors after compilation. If your code has mistakes, it will not compile. But the interpreter displays errors of each line one by one.

5. Compilers can contain interpreters for optimization reasons like faster performance and smaller memory footprint.