Intepretted and Compiled language

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Interpreted Language

Interpreted language is a programming language that is converted into a binary or machine language on the fly each time it is run. This makes it run slower compared to the compiled language counterpart. The benefit is that the interpreted language is a lot simpler and good for rapid prototyping. One good example of interpreted language is web scripting language. JavaScript and VBScript are examples of client side web scripting language whereas PHP and ASP are examples of server side scripting language.

JavaScript is a popular client side scripting language which adds interactive function to web pages. JavaScript source code is embedded with HTML codes and can be viewed by users. JavaScript can be used to validate web page forms and is ideal for creating dynamic contents based on interactivity between users and the webpage forms.

VBScript can be used both as a client side scripting language and a server side scripting language. As a client side scripting language it is used in a similar way as JavaScript. However due to its incompatibility with many browsers, JavaScript takes over as a main client side scripting language. As a server side scripting language, VBScript is used in Active Server Page (ASP) to create dynamic content.

PHP is and open source server side web scripting language having similar syntax to C, Java and Perl. Its source code is embedded in HTML codes and is executed at the server. PHP is supported on a wide range of platforms including major web servers running on Windows, Mac, Linux and Unix.

ASP or Active Server Page is a Microsoft technology. It uses VBScript as a main scripting language to generate dynamic content. As a commercial product, Microsoft provides a very good software support. Another reason for its popularity is that ASP can integrate easily with other Microsoft products such as ActiveX components, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Office.

Compiled Language

Compiled languages get translated into an executable file of binary machine codes through a program called a compiler. The file is then able to run itself many time without recompilation of the source codes again. This enable compiled codes to run much faster than the interpreted codes. The downside of compiled language is the inherent complexity of a good program implementation. Example of conventional compiled language is C and C++ whereas Java Server Page (JSP) and .NET language are hybrid language.

Hybrid language is a semi compiled and semi interpreted language. This means that the source code get translated into an intermediate level code and then run by interpreter or just in time compiler. Source code in JSP, based on Java, is compiled into Bytecode and is run on an interpreter called Java Virtual Machine. Whereas with .NET, the intermediate language is called Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) and the interpreter is called .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) engine.

One of the main advantages that JSP has over the rest of the web technology is that it allows the separation between the presentation and the logic behind the system by using Java Bean. Another advantage is that JSP codes which are translated into Bytecodes is platform independent. The downside is that JSP can only run on Java enable web server.

ASP.NET, the latest version of ASP, is a Microsoft technology with many built in features. It has several reasons as to why it is so popular. First, ASP.NET can be written in many different programming language supported by the .NET framework, typically Visual Basic.Net, JScript.Net and C#. Second, a great set of web controls enable programmers to solve common problem instantly without extra coding. Finally, the most important reason is that it allows developer to separate the ASP.NET codes from HTML codes though code behind.