A process in which the source code is immediately executed without the need to translate it into machine code is called:

Question

Options

• Alinking
• Binterpretation
• Ccompilation
• Dtranslation

• A
  17% (4)
• B
  71% (17)
• C
  4% (1)
• D
  8% (2)

Explanation

Interpretation (B) is correct because an interpreter reads and executes source code line-by-line at runtime, without producing a separate machine-code file - Python and JavaScript engines work this way.

Linking (A) is wrong - it's the step that combines compiled object files and libraries into a final executable, happening after translation, not instead of it. Compilation (C) is the opposite of interpretation: it translates the entire source code into machine code before execution, producing a binary. Translation (D) is a broad umbrella term covering both compilation and interpretation, not a specific process that skips machine code conversion.

Memory tip: Think of an interpreter like a live human translator at a meeting - converting speech sentence-by-sentence in real time - versus a compiler like a translator who pre-translates an entire book before anyone reads it.

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