You need a programming language to ..

C is written in C.

I go through this like once a month and then remind myself to just stop trying to understand the matrix

Genetic programming ftw!

Program a program with write program with a interpreter to the program.

Machine code.

@drRoss then how was C first written, to be written in C?

@birkenspanner Look up "bootstrapping".

Basically you start with a very minimal process/set of functions that can be used to compile the code that defines a slightly more functional compiler. This creates your next compiler which then can then be used to build code that can do even more. You repeat this process until you have a full blown compiler that can compile all the language features.

The other alternative is to write the first version of the compiler in a different language and then write the next version in your target language.

Taken from: http://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/...

@drRoss Thanks, that's pretty interesting.

Basically, someone in the past wrote an assembler in binary code and then at some point someone wrote a compiler/interprenter in assembly. At least that's what logic dictates...

RISC ?