1,885
edits
Changes
no edit summary
[[Assembly language]] (or just "Assembly") is closely related to machine language, but uses a [[Symbolic|symbolic]] representation of instructions and memory locations and is therefore easier to write and read. A compiler for assembly language is called an [[Assembler|assembler]], and a tool to convert machine code to assembly is called a [[Disassembler|disassembler]].
Assembly is [[Portable|architecture-specific]] but allows precise control over the exact instructions which will be executed by the CPU. It is therefore used for the most basic functions of the bootloader and operating system kernel, the lowest-level operating system devices drivers, and code where performance is critical. However, assemblers do not usually perform [[Optimizations|optimizations]], so C code which has been optimized by a good compiler will often perform as well as or better than assembly code unless it is very painstakingly written.
== Relationship to Other Languages ==
