programming-languagesinterpreted-language

What are the pros and cons of interpreted languages?


I'm now learning Perl. What are the pros and cons of the interpreted languages?


Solution

  • Blatant copy from wikipedia so I'll make this community wiki.

    Advantages of interpreted languages

    Interpreted languages give programs certain extra flexibility over compiled languages. Features that are easier to implement in interpreters than in compilers include (but are not limited to):

    Disadvantages of interpreted languages

    An execution by an interpreter is usually much less efficient than regular program execution. It happens because either every instruction should pass an interpretation at runtime or as in newer implementations, the code has to be compiled to an intermediate representation before every execution. The virtual machine is a partial solution to the performance issue as the defined intermediate-language is much closer to machine language and thus easier to be translated at run-time. Another disadvantage is the need for an interpreter on the local machine to make the execution possible.