Interpreter

• Interpreters work by reading the source code line-by-line and executing it directly.
• This means that the source code needs to be present every time the program is run.

Positives of interpreters

• Easier to debug
• More portable (can run on any system with the interpreter)
• No compilation time

Negatives of interpreters

• Slower execution
• Source code must be distributed (may expose proprietary code)
• More runtime errors (harder to catch in development)
• Requires interpreter to be installed:
  • May not be available on all systems
  • User needs to install the interpreter themselves
• Less optimization for specific hardware