internal reconstruction reconstruction interpolation [Lat. interpolatio ‘touching upon, altering’]

Computer program that translates a higher-level programming language (e.g. BASIC, LISP, PROLOG) from a (problem-oriented) notation into an equivalent lower-level (machine-oriented) notation. In contrast to a compiler, the interpreter reads the ‘source code’ and immediately executes the corresponding operations, which is advantageous for interactively testing parts of programs.