I have heard that python is an interpreted language, while java is a compiled language. This makes python (generally) easier to develop quickly, but makes it a bit slower than a compiled language. Java however is a bit harder to write quickly, but since it's compiled it runs faster. So my question is, would it be possible to make a programming language that is interpreted for development, but then can be compiled for publishing? Does such a language exist already?
Yes, please try Racket
It is a programming language that can be developed incrementally and can be compiled into bytecode to run on a virtual machine, and has documents and powerful macros that are friendly to newcomers.
add: you may want to read it: