1.2: What is Assembly Language

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The typical question asked by students is 'why learn assembly?'. Before addressing that question, let's clarify what exactly assembly language is.

Assembly language is machine specific. For example, code written for an x86-64 processor will not run on a different processor such as a RISC processor (popular in tablets and smart-phones).

Assembly language is a “low-level” language and provides the basic instructional interface to the computer processor. Assembly language is as close to the processor as you can get as a programmer. Programs written in a high-level language are translated into assembly language in order for the processor to execute the program. The high- level language is an abstraction between the language and the actual processor instructions. As such, the idea that “assembly is dead” is nonsense.

Assembly language gives you direct control of the system's resources. This involves setting processor registers, accessing memory locations, and interfacing with other hardware elements. This requires a significantly deeper understanding of exactly how the processor and memory work.