What is the purpose of a compiler in programming?

The purpose of a compiler in programming is to translate source code written in a high-level programming language into machine code, which is a low-level language that the computer's hardware can execute directly. This process is crucial because computers cannot understand high-level languages as they are formulated more naturally for human comprehension. After compilation, the machine code can be run by the computer's processor, allowing the program to function as intended.

While some options mention functions relevant to programming, they do not capture the compiler's primary role. For instance, running code on a computer depends on the ability of the compiler to convert it first into a form that the computer can execute. Debugging errors in the code is typically handled by separate debugging tools rather than the compiler itself, although some compilers do include error messages. Compressing file sizes is related to data management rather than the translation of code into machine-readable formats.