Low Level Languages vs. High Level Languages
One of the first things aspiring programmers learn about are languages. Languages are sets of commands and instructions that produce machine output. They are the fundamental tools for both humans and machines to read, write, and compile blocks of code.
In the coding world, languages are categorized into two distinct categories: low-level languages and high-level languages. Low-level languages, such as assembly and machine code, largely resemble instructions that computers can understand. They are languages that are designed for machines, rather than humans. High-level languages, such as Java and Python, largely resemble natural instructions and spoken languages. They are languages designed for humans, rather than machines.
From a human perspective, because low-level languages are oriented towards computer understanding, they are harder to interpret and debug. The same applies to high-level languages from the machine perspective, as those languages are oriented more towards the human’s understanding. However, while difficult, both users and machines can interpret and run both types of languages.
From a general point of view, high-level languages are less memory efficient than low-level languages. This is because the machine ultimately compiles and executes any block of code inputted. Since low-level languages are easier for the computer to understand, it would take less time and memory for it to execute the instructions. Whereas for high-level languages, the computer would have to translate the code into machine code before execution, which requires more memory storage.
Low-level languages typically require an assembler, which is a program that converts blocks of code to a machine-interpretable format. The assembler collects the basic commands and operations written in low-level code and converts them into binary code, a sequence of 0’s and 1’s. The computer then interprets the lines of binary code and signals the hardware on what to do.
High-level languages requirer a compiler or interpreter, which are programs that analyzes and executes high-level languages line by line. These programs specifically convert high-level language directly into binary code, which saves up on memory efficiency. While similar to the functionality of an assembler, the interpreter executes code per line rather than blocks, making it easier for humans to understand and debug their programs incase of any errors.