Why aren't there automated translators from one programming language to another?

Posted by serg on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by serg
Published on 2010-10-17T02:33:10Z Indexed on 2012/03/23 17:39 UTC
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programming-languages

Most programming languages are Turing complete, which means that any task that can be solved in one language can be solved in another one, or even on Turing machine. Then why aren't there automatic translators that can convert programs from any given language to any other language? I've seen couple attempts for two languages, but they always work only on a limited subset of a language and can hardly be used for converting real projects.

Is it possible, at least in theory, to write 100% correct translator between all languages? What are the challenges in practice? Are there any existing translators that work?

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