The first step is for the code to be converted into a low-level language, often machine language or bytecode, which is a sequence of binary instructions that the computer's central processing unit ...

What does standards - machine languages actually mean? Find out inside PCMag's comprehensive tech and computer-related encyclopedia.

The first is to compile an executable program into the operating environment (machine language and OS) of each target computer. The second is to use an intermediate language and compile only once.

This is why I’ve long argued that BASIC is the most consequential language in the history of computing. It’s a language for noobs, sure, but back then most everyone was a noob.