Assembly Language

Definition

• A low-level programming language that uses symbolic codes to represent machine-specific instructions.
• Translates directly to machine code.

Characteristics

• Platform-specific: Assembly languages are specific to a particular computer architecture.
• Low-level: Assembly languages provide direct access to hardware resources.
• Symbolic representation: Uses symbolic codes to represent machine instructions.

Advantages

• Performance: Assembly language programs can be optimized for performance.
• Control: Assembly language provides direct control over hardware resources.
• Embedded systems: Assembly language is often used in embedded systems programming.

Disadvantages

• Platform dependence: Assembly language programs are not portable across different platforms.
• Complexity: Assembly language programming can be complex and time-consuming.
• Error-prone: Assembly language programming can be error-prone due to the lack of high-level abstractions.

Applications

• Embedded systems: Assembly language is used in embedded systems programming.
• Device drivers: Assembly language is used in device driver development.
• Low-level programming: Assembly language is used for low-level programming tasks.