From: tony@my.net   
      
   "Hans Aberg"  wrote in message   
   > marco.m.petersen@gmail.com wrote:   
   >> I mean, if you wrote a program that converts code from BASIC to C++   
   >> then calls another compiler to do the compilation process, wouldn't   
   >> that be considered as a compiler?   
   >   
   > Yes, formally a compiler just translates one computer language into   
   > another. For example, an assembler translates into the machine code   
   > language.   
      
   I would say that is simply translation and not compilation because there is   
   no intermediate representation. The IR (and the creation of it via   
   lex/parse/semantic analysis before code generation) is what I think   
   distinguishes compilers from interpreters and translators.   
      
   Tony   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)