Assembler vs. Compiler
Two terms that play the most important role in the execution of the program are compiler and assembler. The compiler’s job is to take the preprocessed source code and translate it into assembly code. Then an assembler’s job is to take the assembler code from the compiler and translate it into machine code. If we talk about the main difference, then the main difference between assembler and compiler is that the compiler takes the source code and translates it to the assembly code, while the assembler takes the assembly code generated by the compiler and translates it to the machine code. The compiler reads the program that is written in a source language. The compiler is a computer program that translates source code into assembly language, and this assembly language code is sent to the assembler. There are types of compilers such as the single pass compiler, the multi pass compiler, the load and run compiler, and the debug and tune compiler. The assembler takes the assembler code generated by the compiler and translates it into machine code. The assembler’s main job is to take the data as input and form the relocatable machine code. There is a compiler available that performs the assembly task and directly generates the machine code, but that does not mean that we cannot study the functions of the assembler. There is a big difference between assembly code and machine code. All of these different types of compilers perform different functions and are different depending on the job. The assembly code is the mnemonic version of the machine code, whereas the machine code uses the binary codes for the representation of operations of a memory address. Two passes are preformed in assembler which are the first pass that identifies the assembly code and stores that code in the symbol table and then the second pass that scans the code again and performs the operations on the code. There are two steps in which compilation is done, a step is the analysis part where the source code is broken into pieces and the intermediate rendering is done. In the synthesis part, the destination code forms the intermediate representation. There are phases of the compiler which are a lexical parser, syntax parser, semantic parser, intermediate code generation, code optimizer, code generator, symbol table, and error handler.
| Assembler | Compiler |
| Assembler is a computer program that takes the assembly code generated by the compiler and translates it into machine code. | The compiler is a computer program that takes source code and translates it into assembly code. |
| Entrance | |
| Assembler input assembly language code | Compiler input source code |
| Stages | |
| The assembler phases are the first and second phases. | The compiler stages are a lexical parser, syntax parser, semantic parser, generated intermediate code, code optimizer, code generator, symbol table, and error handler. |
| Departure | |
The assembler
 output is binary code. |
The compiler output is a mnemonic version of the code. |
What is a compiler?
The compiler reads the program that is written in a source language. The compiler is a computer program that translates source code into assembly language, and this assembly language code is sent to the assembler. There are types of compilers such as the single pass compiler, the multi pass compiler, the load and run compiler, and the debug and tune compiler. All of these different types of compilers perform different functions and are different depending on the job. There are two steps where compilation is done, one step is the analysis part where the source code is broken down into pieces and the intermediate rendering is done. In the synthesis part, the destination code forms the intermediate representation. There are phases of the compiler which are a lexical parser, syntax parser,
What is Assembler?
The assembler takes the assembler code generated by the compiler and translates it into machine code. The assembler’s main job is to take the data as input and form the relocatable machine code. There is a compiler available that performs the assembler task and directly generates the machine code, but that does not mean that we cannot study the assembler functions. There is a big difference between assembly code and machine code. Assembly code is the mnemonic version of machine code, while machine code uses binary codes to represent memory address operations.
- Assembler is a computer program that takes the assembly code generated by the compiler and translates it into machine code, while Compiler is a computer program that takes source code and translates it into assembly code.
- The assembler enters the assembly language code while the compiler enters the source code.
- The assembler phases are the first and a second phase . The compiler stages are a lexical parser, syntax parser, semantic parser, generated intermediate code, code optimizer, code generator, symbol table, and error handler.
- The output of the assembler is binary code, while the output of the compiler is a mnemonic version of the code.
