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Machine language is a collection of computer instructions that are specific to a particular hardware environment. Machine languages aren't particularly human readable. In other words, they are designed for efficiency and don't resemble a natural language such as English. It is possible for a human to read machine code but it consists of a long series of hardware operations that aren't typically interesting to humans, including programmers who most often work in source code. The following are examples of machine code:
INPUTRead input from an input device and stores it in a register. OUTPUTWrite the value of a register to an output device. ADDAdd the values of two registers and store the result in another register. SUBSubtract the values of two registers and store the result in another register. LOADLoad a value from memory into a register. STOREStore the value of a register into memory. JUMPMove to a specific memory address.
The examples above may seem quite simple but keep in mind that a relatively simple program can have millions of lines of machine code.|
Type | Information Technology | Definition | A language of computer instructions that is understood by a particular category of hardware. | Also Known As | Machine code | Related Concepts | | Next: Low Level Programming
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