Can you explain what a compiler is and how it works?

A compiler is a program that translates source code written in a high-level programming language (such as C, C++, or Java) into machine code or another intermediate code understandable by a computer.

The main stages of a compiler's work:

1. Lexical analysis — breaking the source code into tokens (keywords, identifiers, operators).
2. Syntax analysis — constructing a parse tree based on the language grammar.
3. Semantic analysis — checking logic and data types.
4. Optimization — improving the code for better performance.
5. Code generation — creating machine or intermediate code.

For example, a C compiler converts the program text into an executable file that can be run on a computer without an interpreter.