Difference Between Source Code And Byte Code

• A computer is a machine that can carry out tasks in response to the user’s commands. A computer program can offer the computer instructions. It consists of a collection of instructions expressed in a particular programming language. Programming languages come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The majority of programming languages are high-level languages.
• Humans and programmers can easily understand program created in high-level languages. Source code is the term used to describe these applications. They are incomprehensible to the machine. As a result, a program that is readable and intelligible by humans must be transformed into a machine-readable format.
• Machine code is a type of coding that can be understood by machines. A compiler turns the entire source code to machine code in programming languages like C. Some programming languages first transform source code to intermediate code, which is subsequently converted to machine code. The bytecode is the intermediary code used in this procedure.

The difference between source code and bytecode is discussed in this blog.

The primary distinction between source code and bytecode is that source code is a collection of computer instructions expressed in a human-readable programming language, whereas bytecode is an intermediate code that is processed by a virtual machine between source code and machine code.

What is Source Code?

• To solve a computation problem, a program is written. Software is a collection of programmes.
• In order to design software, the developer must have a thorough understanding of the requirements. The system can be designed based on the requirements. The developed system is then put into action using a programming language. Using the programming language, the programmer can translate the design into a set of computer programmes.
• These programmes can be understood by a human or a programmer. They have a syntax that is very close to English. Source code is a collection of instructions written in a human-readable programming language.
• Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are used to develop applications in programming languages such as C and Java. A simple text editor can also be used to write programmes. Source Code is the term used to describe these applications.
• The source code has the following  properties:
• Humans and programmers can both read source code.
• Source Code is generated by the human.
• The source code is in plain text format, with English-like grammar and comments.
• The machine cannot directly execute the source code.

What is Bytecode?

When converting a programming language from source code to machine code, some languages transform the source code to bytecode, which is an intermediate code. Java is a popular programming language that makes use of bytecode. The following is the procedure for translating source code to bytecode.

• The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is a virtual machine that aids in the execution of Java programmes. A virtual machine resembles an operating system that is installed on a computer. When you start a Java programme, the compiler turns the source code or the Java programme into Java bytecode. The bytecode is then converted to machine code by the JVM.
• The computer executes machine code directly. JVM is used to write the bytecode. It has nothing to do with the machine. As a result, bytecode is performed on a variety of systems, including Windows, Linux, and Mac. The outcome of parsing and semantic analysis is encoded in the bytecode, which contains numeric codes, constants, and references.

The byte code has the following  properties:

• The virtual machine can read the Byte Code.
• Byte Code is generated by a compiler.
• The outcome of parsing and semantic analysis is encoded in the bytecode, which contains numeric codes, constants, and references.
• A Virtual Machine can execute the bytecode.
• The speed of bytecode is faster than source code.
• Because it is near to machine code, bytecode has better performance than source code.

Summary

• Programs allow the programmer to give instructions to the computer. High-level programming languages are used to create the majority of applications. They are comprehensible to humans, but not to computers. As a result, the software must be translated to a machine-readable format. Different languages employ distinct approaches in this process.
• Some programming languages transform programmes straight to machine code. Other languages transform the programme into intermediate code, which is then translated into machine code. In this process, the phrases source code and bytecode are frequently used.
• The distinction between source code and bytecode is that source code is a collection of computer instructions expressed in a human-readable programming language, whereas bytecode is an intermediate code that is processed by a virtual machine between source code and machine code.
• That’s it for today’s blog about source code and byte code. We hope you have a better understanding now.

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