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interpreter
A program that runs code by reading and executing it step by step, without first compiling it to machine code.
Instead of translating a whole program into native instructions ahead of time, an interpreter walks the code and performs each operation as it goes. This is slower than compiled code but far more portable and simpler to get right, which is why it often serves as a fallback when a JIT compiler can't handle something. In microZeus it's the portable alternate execution path beside the JIT.
See also
- JITA compiler that turns code into fast native machine instructions on the fly, right as the program runs.
- intermediate representation (IR)A halfway code form a compiler uses between human source code and raw machine instructions.