The form into which a source code is translated to enable a computer to execute it. Most computers represent instructions internally using binary codes; it is therefore necessary for the mnemonic instructions of programs (the source code) to be translated into this form and stored in locations in the computer’s memory before they can be executed. In the case of a high-level language, such as C, this translation is performed by a program called a compiler. The task of a compiler is to translate a source program written in, for example, C into an equivalent object code, which the computer can execute.