What Is Machine Language – Advantages And Disadvantages
Machine language is the lowest level of programming language. It is used to control the operation of a computer. Machine language is sometimes referred to as “hardware-level” programming language because it is at this level that an instruction’s binary code in other words, its strings of 0s and 1s that are interpreted by the machine.
The term “machine language” was originally used to refer to a specific type of programming language used for in-house programs on computers built before the mid-1970s. This designation was eventually superseded by assembly languages used for writing applications that run on personal computers.
Machine language is the lowest level of an electronic computer, below assembly language and above binary language. It’s a set of instructions that tells the computer how to perform a particular task.
Machine language is rarely used today; most modern computers are programmed in different languages e, such as C or C++, which are easier to learn and use. However, it is still possible to write programs in machine language.
Machine language is different from human language because it does not have any grammar, word order, or syntax rules. The language contains only one instruction at a time. The processor executes this instruction by following the sequence of electrical pulses that represent the instructions.
The most common example of machine language is assembly language, which is used on many embedded systems such as microcontrollers.
Advantages of Machine Language
Machine language is a programming language that uses a binary number system to represent data. The advantages of machine language include:
1. Low overhead
The language requires very little memory space compared to other high-level programming languages such as Python or Java. This means that you don’t need to keep track of many variables and data structures while running the program on your computer. You can run multiple programs on one computer using only a single processor since all the different programs will share the same memory space and address space.
2. Flexibility
Since there are no data structures or variables involved, you can easily add new features to your existing program without having to change anything else in it. This means that you can easily modify your code so that it runs faster than before or better serves its purpose in some way or another.”
3. Fast
The language is faster than regular programming languages.
A computer does not need to translate the program from one format into another each time it executes it. With machine language, you can obtain results more quickly and with less effort than you would routinely use a high-level language.
4. Directly understood by hardware.
It consist of instructions given to computer in such a way that the hardware interprets it correctly.
5. Machine language programs can be used to control the operation of any digital device, including computers and computer peripherals.
6. Machine languages are used in embedded systems, robotics, industrial automation, and robotic process automation. They are also used in operating systems for microcomputers, mainframes, and minicomputers.
Disadvantages Of Machine Language
1. Difficult to learn
It is not easy to read and understand the code. You need to know a lot about how computers work to understand the code.
2. Limited range of operations
Machine code instructions are essentially a simple instruction set for a particular microprocessor, so you can only do so much with them. For example, if you wanted to add two numbers together, you would need to write the following: ADD #%02b + %02b; This is equivalent to writing “ADD 1 + 1” in English.
3. Not portable
Machine code instructions are specific to the hardware they run on, so they can’t be transferred between machines without being translated into something else first (like assembly language). This means that if you have an old computer with an outdated operating system, your programs will not run on it anymore unless they’re translated into something else which may be difficult or impossible.
4. Machine code cannot be modified, only translated into machine code by a compiler or interpreter.
In Conclusion
Machine language is a type of programming language and a computer process, which controls the functionality of a machine. It is a collection of symbols that represents the commands that are used in running a program.
The language has more advantages compared to its drawbacks.
