What type of software translates higher-level programming code into machine code?

The option referring to a tool that translates higher-level programming code into machine code is the compiler. A compiler is specialized software that processes source code written in a high-level programming language and converts it into machine code, which is a lower-level language that the computer's processor can execute directly. This process typically involves several stages, including lexical analysis, syntax analysis, semantic analysis, optimization, and code generation, resulting in an executable file or binary that can be run on a computer.

While an assembler is also a translation tool, it specifically converts assembly language, which is a low-level language, into machine code, rather than dealing with high-level programming languages. An interpreter, on the other hand, executes high-level code line-by-line, translating it into machine code dynamically during execution, rather than creating a standalone executable file like a compiler. Lastly, a debugger is a tool used to test and debug code, and does not perform code translation. Each of these tools serves different purposes in the software development process, but the compiler is specifically responsible for translating high-level programming code into machine code.