2.5.1 Languages

• What are high-level languages aimed at?

  Humans and programmers
• How do high-level languages differ in structure compared to low-level languages?

  They have an English-like structure and syntax
• What is a key feature of high-level languages regarding hardware?

  They are hardware independent
• What must high-level languages do before they can be run?

  They must be translated, compiled, or interpreted
• How many machine code instructions does one high-level command equate to?

  Many machine code instructions
• What is low-level code also known as?

  Assembly code
• What do mnemonics in assembly code represent?

  Abbreviations of code
• How does the relationship between assembly language instructions and machine code instructions differ from high-level languages?

  One assembly language instruction translates to one machine code instruction
• What is machine code?

  Code for the CPU to execute
• What type of instructions does machine code consist of?

  Binary instructions
• Why is machine code not portable to different systems?

  It is specific to a particular type of computer
• What is the purpose of translators in programming?

  To convert source code to binary or machine code
• What type of code can the processor run?

  Binary or machine code
• How does a compiler translate code?

  All at once
• What does a compiler produce after translation?

  An executable file
• When does a compiler report errors?

  At the end of the compilation process
• How does an interpreter translate code?

  Line by line
• What happens when an interpreter encounters an error?

  It stops translating
• What is the role of an assembler?

  To translate assembly code into machine code
• What are the main differences between a compiler and an interpreter?

  • Compiler translates all code at once and produces an executable file.
  • Interpreter translates code line by line and stops at errors.
• What are the characteristics of high-level languages?

  • Aimed at humans and programmers
  • English-like structure and syntax
  • Machine independent and portable
  • Requires translation to run
  • One command equates to many machine code instructions
• What are the characteristics of low-level code?

  • Known as assembly code
  • Uses mnemonics for instructions
  • One instruction translates to one machine code instruction
  • Needs translation to machine code for execution
• What is machine code and its characteristics?

  • Code for CPU execution
  • Composed of binary instructions
  • Specific to a particular type of computer
  • Not portable and does not need translation