2024-what-is-a-compiler

[dujue55]

What is a Compiler?

[carinaschrenk]

Internal Feedback Round 2A 21.11

Thoughts

• The example of the waiter is correct here
• Python is not compiled but interpreted

Ideas

• Change "source code" to "high-level language" in the picture
• The boxes in the illustration are all the same -> but should not
• In the graphic go for a compiler in the historical sense -> a robot actually translating language

[liuchengray]

External feedback:

Part of participants that are computer science students/graduates: 42 %
Part of participants that would read the booklet if it was not for this survey: 58 %

Clarity of the article:

• Very clear: 63%
• Clear: 16 %
• Not clear: 21 %

Technical vs. Non-technical:

• Good balance between technical depth and readability: 95 %
• The article was too technical: 5 %

Engagement:

• I stayed engaged throughout: 84 %
• I lost interest midway: 16 %

Structure of the article:

• The structure is clear and easy to follow: 90 %
• The structure was confusing: 10 %

Part of participants that understand the purpose of the article: 89 %

Part of participants that think the drawing helps to understand the meaning of the article: 79 %

Factual errors/inaccuracies or additional comments:

• Too long
• Python is not compiled.
• Graphic is a bit lame. Could show process better.
• That was clear.
• Its too much of an analogy here. There's no content.

[dujue55]

Based on the feedback, I made the following changes to the article:

1. Removed the 'Python' from the content
2. Updated the illustration

[carinaschrenk]

Creative Rewrite Result of Group 1 (Salman, Philippe, Arita, Fabian and Carina)

„Why do computers need a translator?“

Why do computers need a translator?
Can't programmers just write code, that the computer can immediately execute?
The problem is, that every computer internally only operates on bits, aka 0's and 1's.
Do you understand this piece of machine code?

1000 1011 0001 0101 0000 0010 1000 1001

Yeah, me neither.
But this is why we have compilers.
Instead of writing code as a bunch of zeros and ones, programmers can use words and symbols to express what they want the computer to do.
The compiler translates the code so that the computer can execute the program.