Q. Need of the assembly language ?
Machine language code comprises the 0-1 combinations which computer decodes directly. Though the machine language has the following problems:
- It greatly relies on machine and is difficult for most people to write in 0-1 forms.
- DEBUGGING is difficult.
- Deciphering the machine code is very hard. So program logic would be difficult to understand.
To overcome these difficulties computer manufacturers have planned English-like words to signify the binary instruction of a machine. This symbolic code for every instruction is known as a mnemonic. The mnemonic for a particular instruction comprises letters which suggest the operation to be performed by that instruction. For instance ADD mnemonic is used for adding two numbers. Employing these mnemonics machine language instructions can be written in symbolic form with every machine instruction signified by one equivalent symbolic instruction. This is termed as an assembly language.