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I was talking purely of the "compiler" part, not about any "standalone executable" part that may or may not have been implied.

• adrianN 5y ago
  A JIT has runtime information that makes it a bit easier to optimize a highly dynamic language like Python.
  • jhgb 5y ago
    Yes, that's why JITs are a good idea and often preferred.
• samatman 5y ago
  Without further clarification, when I read "compiler" I translate it as "standalone program which takes source code and emits exactly one binary which executes the program". It can be a much broader term, for example you will run into people here arguing (with some justification!) that a "transpiler" doesn't exist since it's a mere subset of the broad definition of a compiler. I'm just reporting on the mental image that calling such-and-such a compiler forms in my mind's eye. I expect I'm not alone in that.
  • jhgb 5y ago
    There's nothing "broad" about a compiler not generating "exactly one binary". First, most of the time, even in conventional systems, it is the linker who creates that binary, not the compiler. Second, in other systems, such as Oberon, there's not even "exactly one binary" for anything, unless you're talking about the currently running system as a whole.