Which method of program translation in a computer produces an executable file…

Program translators convert source code into a form the CPU can execute. They differ in WHEN that translation happens and WHETHER the translated output survives as an independent file, separate from both the translator program and the original source.

Here, a compiler translates the entire high-level source program before execution, producing a machine-code executable file (directly, or after linking any generated object code). Once that file exists, it runs standalone -- the compiler and the original source code are no longer needed at run time.

• Assembler -- translates low-level assembly-language mnemonics into machine code; it works one level below a compiler (on assembly source, not high-level source), so it is not the general high-level translation method being asked about here.

• Interpreter -- translates and executes source code line by line at run time; it never writes out a separate executable file, so the interpreter and the original source must both be present every time the program runs.

• Converter -- changes the format or representation of existing data or files; it does not translate a program's source code into machine-executable form at all.

Only compiling produces a stand-alone machine-code executable file that can run on its own -- so the method being asked about is the compiler.