PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE: MACHINE, ASSEMBLY, HIGH-LEVEL LANGUAGE

MACHINE LANGUAGE

•  Uses a series of binary digits or a combination of numbers and letters that represent binary digits.
• Machine languages are the only languages understood by computers.
• Every CPU has its own unique machine language. Programs must be rewritten or recompiled, therefore, to run on different types of computers.   

 

ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE

• Program is written using symbolic instruction codes called mnemonic.
• Assembly languages have the same structure and set of commands as machine languages, but they enable a programmer to use names instead of numbers. 
• Assembly language must be converted into machine language before the computer can execute the program.

HIGH-LEVEL LANGUAGE

• A programming language such as C, FORTRAN, or Pascal that enables a programmer to write programs that are more or less independent of a particular type of computer.
• The main advantage of high-level languages over low-level languages is that they are easier to read, write, and maintain. Ultimately, programs written in a high-level language must be translated into machine language by a compiler or interpreter.