What does "transpile" mean in programming?
transpile is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
To convert source code written in one language (or version of a language) into equivalent source code in another. Transpilation differs from compilation: the output is still human-readable source code, not machine code. Babel transpiles modern JavaScript to older versions; TypeScript transpiles to JavaScript.
Example
"TypeScript is transpiled to JavaScript before the browser runs it. The tsconfig.json controls the target version."
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