Skip to main content

Difference between Source Code and Object Code

Here you will learn about difference between source code and object code.

Source Code

Source Code, as the name suggests, it is the source of a program, the file original which is written by the programmer.

The line above is sufficient if you are looking for a definition of the Source Code, adding to this, the following points will help in a better understanding of the topic.

Source Code refers to file which is a text based document that is written by the programmer. The programmer writes the code for performing some task in the human readable language, almost English every time, and saves the file into a prescribed format. For Example – ‘.java’ for JAVA code, ‘.cs’ for C# code, etc. This file is written following some conventions and rules of a particular programming language that can be any high level language of programmer’s choice and is saved accordingly with the correct extension. The Source Code is human readable but machines can’t understand instructions given in English, or any other human language, directly so this code is actually of no use to the machine until compiled by the compiler of the language into machine executable code.

Source Code is served as an input to the compiler of the language in which it is written.

Difference between Source Code and Object Code

Object Code

Object Code is the machine executable file having instructions for the machine in the form of binary digits, generated by the compiler.

Definition is self explanatory but adding to this following explanation can provide a good understanding.

First of all, Object Code is the output of the compiler and is a binary file having instructions that were given by the programmer in the Source Code. These instructions are encoded in the binary digits and Object Code is machine readable, or better to say machine executable code, but not human readable, until and unless programmer is an expert in binary coding.

Object Code is generated through a process called compilation, carried out by compiler to convert Source Code into the machine executable code.

Object Code is system architecture specific, i.e., the file generated by the compiler at one machine might not work on other machines with different system architecture, or underlying structure. Though this problem is solved by the use of Intermediated Code and Just In Time Compiler but still many languages, like JAVA, follow the traditional way of object code generation.

Last point about Object Code is the way the changes are reflected. When the Source Code is modified, each time the Source Code needs to be compiled to reflect the changes in the Object Code.

This was a description about both the type of codes.

The following table concludes the difference between the two.

Source Code vs Object Code – Difference between Source Code and Object Code

Source Code Object Code
Created by the programmer. Created by the Compiler.
Text rich document. Binary digits make up the Object Code.
Human Readable. Machine Readable.
Can be changed over time. Needs to compile the Source Code each time a change is to be made.
Not system specific. System specific.
Serves as input to the compiler. It is the output of the compiler.
Instructions written using English words and according to syntax of the language. Instructions encoded in Binary digits.

Comment below if you have queries regarding difference between source code and object code.

The post Difference between Source Code and Object Code appeared first on The Crazy Programmer.



from The Crazy Programmer https://www.thecrazyprogrammer.com/2018/05/source-code-and-object-code.html
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

dotnet sdk list and dotnet sdk latest

Can someone make .NET Core better with a simple global command? Fanie Reynders did and he did it in a simple and elegant way. I'm envious, in fact, because I spec'ed this exact thing out in a meeting a few months ago but I could have just done it like he did and I would have used fewer keystrokes! Last year when .NET Core was just getting started, there was a "DNVM" helper command that you could use to simplify dealing with multiple versions of the .NET SDK on one machine. Later, rather than 'switching global SDK versions,' switching was simplified to be handled on a folder by folder basis. That meant that if you had a project in a folder with no global.json that pinned the SDK version, your project would use the latest installed version. If you liked, you could create a global.json file and pin your project's folder to a specific version. Great, but I would constantly have to google to remember the format for the global.json file, and I'd constan...
Post a Comment
Read more

15 Web Design Trends to Watch in 2018

The modern world is full of extraordinary things that influence our imagination and mood. Our soul needs a perfect atmosphere and impressive spots. To apply such things in practice, we have submitted the list of the web trends that deserve your attention. Robert frost design analysis will meet all your wishes and expectations. Image Source Web Design Trends to Watch in 2018 1. More Organic Shapes Until this year, web design, as well as mobile design, were based on the right-angled and sharp-edged shapes. However, it seems that this year will bring some significant changes in the field of web design. The recent trends will offer the absolute rounded corners. In addition, the web design of 2018 will make the real things look like the cartoonish ones. 2.   Bold Minimalism Although some of you may think that this web design trend will not attract the Internet users. Indeed, the notion of minimalism is often associated with boredom and dullness. However, in this case, bold ...
Post a Comment
Read more

R vs Python for Machine Learning

There are so many things to learn before to choose which language is good for Machine Learning. We will discuss each and everything about R as well as Python and the situation or problem in which situation we have to use which language. Let’s start Python and R are the two most Commonly used Programming Languages for Machine Learning and because of the popularity of both the languages Novice or you can say fresher are getting confused, whether they should choose R or Python language to commence their career in the Machine learning domain. Don’t worry guys through this article we will discuss R vs Python for Machine Learning. So, without exaggerating this article let’s get started. We will start it from the very Basics things or definitions. R vs Python for Machine Learning Introduction R is a programming language made by statisticians and data miners for statistical analysis and graphics supported by R foundation for statistical computing. R also provides high-quality graphics and...
1 comment
Read more