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Machine Language The language, made up of binary-coded instructions, that is used directly by the computer. |
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Even though most computers perform the same kinds of operations, their designers choose different sets of binary codes for each instruction. So the machine code for one computer is not the same as for another. |
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When programmers used machine language for programming, they had to enter the binary codes for the various instructions, a tedious process that was prone to error. Moreover, their programs were difficult to read and modify. In time, assembly languages were developed to make the programmer's job easier. |
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Assembly Language A low-level programming language in which a mnemonic is used to represent each of the machine language instructions for a particular computer. |
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Instructions in an assembly language are in an easy-to-remember form called a mnemonic (pronounced ni-'män-ik). Typical instructions for addition and subtraction might look like this: |
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Although assembly language was easier for humans to work with, the computer could not directly execute the instructions. So a program called an assembler was written to translate the instructions written in assembly language into machine code. |
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Assembler A program that translates an assembly language program into machine code. |
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The assembler was a step in the right direction, but programmers still were forced to think in terms of individual machine instructions. Eventually, computer scientists developed high-level programming languages. These |
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