Definition: Interpreted Language: Unlike a compiled program, which is converted from source code to an executable one time, by a compiler, and then run from its binary form, an interpreted program is converted to binary on the fly each time it is run, by an interpreter program. Interpreted languages (and thus their programs) tend to be slower than compiled and p-code languages/programs, and generally have limited authorization to low-level operating system functions or direct hardware access. On the other hand, they do not require compilers (which can be expensive), are often included along with operating systems, and are usually easier to program than compiled languages. Examples of interpreted languages are BASIC, Perl, Python and REXX/Object REXX.
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Source: I-gloss / Linux Dictionary V 0.16
http://www.tldp.org/LDP/Linux-Dictionary/html/index.html
Author: Binh Nguyen linuxfilesystem(at)yahoo(dot)com(dot)au
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