Editing Software (section)

===Compilation,  interpretation, and execution===
<!-- [[File:Compiler.svg|upright=1.5|thumb |A diagram of the operation of a typical multi-language, multi-target compiler]] -->
The invention of high-level programming languages was simultaneous with the [[compiler]]s needed to translate them automatically into machine code.{{sfn|Tracy|2021|p=121}} Most programs do not contain all the resources needed to run them and rely on external [[software library|libraries]]. Part of the compiler's function is to link these files in such a way that the program can be executed by the hardware. Once compiled, the program can be saved as an [[object file]] and the [[Loader (computing)|loader]] (part of the operating system) can take this saved file and [[execution (computing)|execute]] it as a [[process]] on the computer hardware.{{sfn|Tracy|2021|pp=122-123}} Some programming languages use an [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreter]] instead of a compiler. An interpreter converts the program into machine code at [[execution (computing)|run time]], which makes them 10 to 100 times slower than compiled programming languages.{{sfn|O'Regan|2022|p=375}}{{sfn|Sebesta|2012|p=28}}