Question 1

What is the difference between compiled and interpreted languages?

Accepted Answer

**Compiled** languages translate source code into machine code **before** execution. **Interpreted** languages translate and execute it **during** execution. The distinction is genuinely blurrier than the textbook version suggests.

**Compilation ahead of time.** A compiler reads your entire program, checks it, optimises it, and emits a binary the processor runs directly. C, C++, Rust and Go work this way.

**Advantages:** the fastest execution, since optimisation happens once with full visibility of the program; errors caught before shipping; no runtime needed on the target machine.

**Costs:** a build step, and binaries tied to a platform and architecture.

**Interpretation.** An interpreter reads and executes the program a piece at a time. Classic shell scripting works this way.

**Advantages:** immediate feedback, easy portability, and runtime flexibility such as `eval`.

**Costs:** slower execution, and errors surfacing only when a line runs.

**Why the distinction is not clean.** This matters because most modern languages are hybrids:

**Python** compiles source to **bytecode** (the `.pyc` files) and then interprets that bytecode on a virtual machine. It is compiled and interpreted.

**Java and C#** compile to bytecode ahead of time, then a **JIT (just-in-time) compiler** converts hot paths to native machine code at runtime, using profiling information the ahead-of-time compiler never had. This can occasionally beat static compilation.

**JavaScript** engines like V8 do the same aggressively — interpreting first, then JIT-compiling frequently executed functions and deoptimising when assumptions break.

**The accurate statement** is that compilation and interpretation are properties of an **implementation**, not of a language. There are C interpreters and Python compilers.

**What actually affects your work:** whether there is a build step, whether type errors appear before or during execution, and whether the runtime must be installed on the target.

Question 2

What is a JIT compiler?

Accepted Answer

A compiler that translates code to machine instructions while the program is running, using information only available at runtime — which is how languages that appear to be interpreted achieve

Question 3

What is the difference between a compiler error, a runtime error and a logic error?

Accepted Answer

They differ in when the problem is discovered, and that ordering is also the order of increasing cost. Compile-time errors are found before the program runs. Syntax errors, type mismatches, undefined

Question 4

What does permission denied mean when running a shell script?

Accepted Answer

The message has three distinct causes that look nearly identical, and knowing which one you have saves a great deal of guessing. The first and most common is that the file is not marked executable.

Question 5

What is the difference between the stack and the heap?

Accepted Answer

Both are regions of memory a program uses, with fundamentally different allocation strategies and lifetimes. The stack holds function call frames. Each call pushes a frame containing parameters,

Question 6

What are the TypeScript vs JavaScript differences?

Accepted Answer

TypeScript enhances JavaScript with static typing, better tooling, and compile-time error checking, making it ideal for large projects. JavaScript remains simpler for smaller tasks.

Question 7

What are the best debugging tools for C++ development?

Accepted Answer

C++ debugging tools comparison helps developers choose the right tool for efficient code troubleshooting. Key tools include GDB, Visual Studio Debugger, Valgrind, CLion, and Eclipse CDT, each with unique features.

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