Computer-Aided Translation (CAT)

What is the difference between machine translation and computer-aided translation (CAT)?

While machine translation is the automatic production of a translation by a computer or similar machine, CAT software is a variety of tools used by human translators to reduce repetitive work and guarantee consistency throughout a project or over several projects for the same client. CAT tools, from terminology databanks to translation memories, serve different needs, and are more or less useful for different types of texts. For instance, if you have a document that is periodically updated, such as a catalog or a software manual, the use of a translation memory can reduce your translation cost for the updates, and a terminology databank is invaluable in maintaining a client glossary.