funny, i was listening to the go time podcast during my commute this morning and they had the author on...

the author seems to suggest that one should start with an interpreter, then move to a compiler. (read the interpreter book, then read the compiler book...)

i think it really depends on what you are doing. in fact, python is a good example. it compiles to bytecode that is interpreted. it has the both compiling thing going on and then the whole VM thing. i believe java is similar. what i am trying to say is that the line is very blurry nowadays.