The Basics Behind the Live Server of VSC

Live Server of VSC — which developers often use extensively in our beginner stage- works more complexly to simplify tasks for us. Numerous components are involved before our code or program turns into a beautiful web page!

Live Server Extension of Visual Studio Code

Here’s a breakdown of the components involved:

• Live Server extension: This VSC extension provides the functionality to start a local server and embeds the auto—refresh feature to any browser you work on.
• Local Server: When you start Live Server, it creates a temporary local server on your machine. This mini server can serve your web pages.
• Web browser: This is the program (like Chrome or Firefox) that displays your web pages. It interprets the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code and displays the web page.

What is a Runtime Environment?

A Runtime Environment is an environment where the code is executed, (and it is really specific). For instance, the runtime environment when you execute your program depends on the programming language implemented:

Compiled Languages:

• These languages need to be translated into machine code before they can run.
• The compiler typically creates an executable file that contains the machine code instructions.
• The specific runtime environment depends on the compiler and target platform.
• Common examples include C++, Java, and C#.

Interpreted Languages:

• These languages are executed directly by an interpreter, line by line.
• The interpreter reads the code and translates it into instructions the computer can understand at runtime.
• The runtime environment typically consists of the interpreter itself and any standard libraries it uses.
• Common examples include Python, JavaScript, and Ruby.

Web Technologies:

• HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are used to create web pages.
• Web browsers provide the runtime environment for these languages.
• The browser interprets the code and displays the web page.

Other factors:

• Some languages can be both compiled and interpreted, depending on the implementation.
• Libraries and frameworks can also introduce their runtime environment requirements.

Now let’s take an example at the end of the day and bring this to a conclusion. The runtime environment for a Python program consists of:

• Python interpreter: This translates Python code into instructions the computer can understand.
• Standard library: This provides a set of built-in modules for common tasks.
• Imported libraries: These extend Python’s functionality with additional tools.