ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Compiler Description Language

A compiler description language is a special kind of language that helps computers understand how to turn code written by humans into something they can understand and execute. It's like a set of instructions that tells the computer what to do with the code.

Think about it like baking a cake. You have a recipe that tells you what ingredients to mix together and how long to cook them for. The compiler description language is like the recipe for the computer. It tells the computer what code to mix together and how to turn it into an executable program.

The language works by giving the computer a set of rules to follow when it compiles code. For example, it might say that if it sees the keyword "int" it should reserve some space in memory for an integer type. Or it might say that if it sees a certain symbol, it should perform a specific action.

These rules are written in a language that the computer can understand, allowing it to take code written in a high-level language like Java or Python and turn it into low-level machine code that can be executed by the computer's processor.

Overall, a compiler description language is a way for humans to communicate with computers and help them understand how to turn our code into something they can understand and use.