Question

What does compile-time type checking do?

a. Allow a single type for each expression
b. Check for type consistency of each operator at compile
time
c. Report where in source code the error

Answer 1

Compile-time type checking ensures the type consistency of variables and expressions at the time of code compilation, preventing mismatched types and leading to more reliable and error-free code.

Step-by-step explanation:

Compile-time type checking is a feature of statically typed languages that verifies the type consistency of variables and expressions within a program during the compilation process. Essentially, option (b) 'Check for type consistency of each operator at compile time' is the correct understanding of compile-time type checking. This step ensures that the types of variables and the expressions they are involved in make sense according to the language's rules, preventing types from being mismatched which would lead to runtime errors.

For example, in a strongly typed language like Java, an attempt to add a string and an integer would result in a compile-time error, as these are different data types, and the language specification does not allow for this kind of operation without explicit conversion. Compile-time type checking allows developers to catch these errors early in the development process, leading to more reliable and error-free code.