Low-level programming language: Difference between revisions

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In [[computer sciencesciencehdkjhsfhdskfh]], a '''low-level programming language''' is a [[programming language]] that provides little or no [[Abstraction (computer science)|abstraction]] from a computer's [[instruction set architecture]]. Generally this refers to either [[machine code]] or [[assembly language]]. The word "low" refers to the small or nonexistent amount of [[abstraction (computer science)|abstraction]] between the language and machine language; because of this, low-level languages are sometimes described as being "close to the hardware".

Low-level languages can be converted to machine code without using a compiler or interpreter, and the resulting code runs directly on the processor. A program written in a low-level language can be made to run very quickly, and with a very small memory footprint; an equivalent program in a high-level language will be more heavyweight. Low-level languages are simple, but are considered difficult to use, due to the numerous technical details which must be remembered.