So being compiled or interpreted is not an intrinsic characteristic of a language nevertheless, there are some general differences between compiled and interpreted languages. Java uses an intermediate language called Java bytecode, which is similar to machine language, but it is executed by a software interpreter, the Java virtual machine (JVM). Second, there are languages like Java that use a hybrid approach, compiling programs into an intermediate language and then running the translated program in an interpreter. Add your perspective Help others by sharing more. For example, there are C interpreters and Python compilers. Compiled and interpreted languages are two categories of programming languages based on how they are processed by the compiler or the interpreter. But the distinction is not always clear-cut.įirst, many languages can be either compiled or interpreted. Usually C is considered a compiled language and Python is considered an interpreted language. “Compiled” means that programs are translated into machine language and then executed by hardware “interpreted” means that programs are read and executed by a software interpreter. People often describe programming languages as either compiled or interpreted.
