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A compiled language is written and then run through a compiler which checks its syntax and compresses it into a binary executable. Since an interpreted language is not compiled, it must be checked for errors at run-time, which makes it quite a bit slower than a compiled language (like C or Java). Perl is an example of an interpreted language. Remember, though, that just because a language is interpreted doesn't necessarily mean it is not full-featured, or simplistic. Perl can get very complex and very cryptic, very quickly.