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Assembly Language
By JASON FERNANDO Updated October 01, 2022

Reviewed by THOMAS BROCK

Fact checked by KIRSTEN ROHRS SCHMITT

What Is an Assembly Language?

An assembly language is a type of low-level
programming language that is intended to
communicate directly with a computer’s hardware.
Unlike machine language, which consists of binary
and hexadecimal characters, assembly languages
are designed to be readable by humans.

Low-level programming languages such as assembly

language are a necessary bridge between the
underlying hardware of a computer and the higher-
level programming languages—such as Python or
JavaScript—in which modern software programs are
written.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
An assembly language is a type of
programming language that translates
high-level languages into machine
language.
It is a necessary bridge between software
programs and their underlying hardware
platforms.
Assembly language relies on language
syntax, labels, operators, and directives to
convert code into usable machine
instruction.
Assembly language may pass through
single-pass or multi-pass assemblers, each
with specific uses and benefits.
Today, assemble languages are rarely
written directly, although they are still used
in some niche applications such as when
performance requirements are particularly
high.

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How Assembly Languages Work

Fundamentally, the most basic instructions
executed by a computer are binary codes, consisting
of ones and zeros. Those codes are directly
translated into the “on” and “off” states of the
electricity moving through the computer’s physical
circuits. In essence, these simple codes form the
basis of “machine language,” the most fundamental
variety of programming language.

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Of course, no human would be able to construct

modern software programs by explicitly
programming ones and zeros. Instead, human
programmers must rely on various layers of
abstraction that can allow themselves to articulate
their commands in a format that is more intuitive to
humans.

Specifically, modern programmers issue commands

in so-called “high-level languages,” which utilize
intuitive syntax such as whole English words and
sentences, as well as logical operators such as “and,”
“or,” and  “else” that are familiar to everyday usage.

Ultimately, however, these high-level commands

need to be translated into machine language. Rather
than doing so manually, programmers rely on
assembly languages whose purpose is to
automatically translate between these high-level
and low-level languages. The first assembly
languages were developed in the 1940s, and though
modern programmers and modern natural language
processors spend very little time dealing with
assembly languages, they nevertheless remain
essential to the overall functioning of a computer. 

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Important: During the early days of

computing, systems programming and
application programming would both
take place entirely in assembly language.
Without assembly languages, many
modern computers and higher-level
languages we use today would not have
been possible.

Components of Assembly Language

Syntax
When writing any code in any program language,
there is an observable, specific order of rules that
must be followed to allow a compiler to execute the
code without error. These rules are defined as the
syntax, and they contain criteria such as the
maximum number of allowable characters, what
characters code lines must start with, or what
certain symbols "i.e. a semi-colon" means.

Label
A label is a symbol that represents the address
where an instruction or data is stored. It's purpose is
to act as the destination when referenced in a
statement. Labels can be used anywhere an address
can be used in assembly languages. A symbolic label
consists of an identifier followed by a colon, while
numeric labels consist of a single digital followed by
a colon.

Operators
Also referred to as commands, operators are logical
expressions that occur after the label field. In
addition, it must be preceded by at least one white-
space character. Operators can either be opcode or
directive. Opcode correspond directly to machine
instructions, and the operation code includes any
register name associated with the instruction.
Alternatively, directive operation codes are
instructions known by the assembler.

Directive
Directives are instructions to the assembler that tell
what actions must take place during the assembly
process. Directives have the importance of declaring
or reserving memory for variables; these variables
can be recalled later in processes to perform more
dynamic functions. Directives are also used to break
programs into different sections.

Macro
An assembly language macro is a template shoe
format presents a series or pattern of statements.
This sequence of assembly language statements
might be common to multiple different programs. A
macro facility is used to interpret macro definitions,
while a macro call is inserted into the source code
where "normal" assembly code would have gone
instead of the macro set of statements.

Mnemonic
A mnemonic is an abbreviation for an operation. A
mnemonic is entered into the operation code for
each assemble program instruction to specify a
shortened "opcode" that represents a larger,
complete set of codes. For example, the mnemonic
"multiply by two" has a full set of code that carries
out the mnemonic.

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Today, assembly languages remain the subject of
study by computer science students, in order to help
them understand how modern software relates to its
underlying hardware platforms. In some cases,
programmers must continue to write in assembly
languages, such as when the demands on
performance are especially high, or when the
hardware in question is incompatible with any
current high-level languages.

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One such example that is relevant to finance are the

high-frequency trading (HFT) platforms used by
some financial firms. In this marketplace, the speed
and accuracy of transactions is of paramount
importance in order for the HFT trading strategies to
prove profitable. Therefore, in order to gain an edge
against their competitors, some HFT firms have
written their trading software directly in assembly
languages, thereby making it unnecessary to wait
for the commands from a higher-level language to
be translated into machine language.

FAST FACT
Many believe assembly languages have the
steepest learning curves and are the most
difficult computing languages to learn.

Advantages and Disadvantages of

Assembly Language
Assembly language can usually be executed faster
than high level languages. It's relatively easy to
insert of delete components of assembly language
code, and assembly language usually requires fewer
instructions to complete a task when compared
against other types of languages.

Assembly languages are also often used by

programmers wanting greater control over their
computers as assembly languages allow you to
directly manipulate your hardware. Because of its
speed and importance, some programs are
specifically written using assembly language as the
code can usually remain smaller.

Assembly languages do tend to have several

drawbacks. Long programs written using assembly
language usually require heavier computing power
and can not be run on small computers. Some may
find the syntax of assembly language more difficult
to remember, and it may take some longer to code
using assembly language as it is more complex. In
addition, assembly language is usually not portable
between different makes of different computers;
similar to how employee benefits are lost when
switching companies, languages cannot be
seamlessly translated to different computers.

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Pros
• Execution may be more simple compared to
other languages
• Execution is usually faster compared to other
languages
• Allows for direct control over hardware
• Code may remain smaller compared to other
languages

Cons
• Programming may be more challenging to pick
up compared to high-level languages
• Syntax of assembly languages is difficult
• Not portable between machines

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Types of Assemblers
Assembly language must be translated into machine
language using an assembler. There are two primary
types of assemblers.

A single-pass assembler scans a program one time

and makes an equivalent binary program. This type
of assembler validates assembly language code by
looking the code up in a mnemonic code table. A
single-pass assembler is often faster than a multi-
pass assembler, and there is usually no need to
construct any intermediate code.

A multi-pass assembler means the assembler uses

more than one pass. Multi-pass assemblers create a
table with every symbol and each of their values in
the first pass, then use the table in future passes to
generate new code. Each separate pass usually
handles a different specific task. Though usually
slower, multi-pass assemblers with modular
structures can often be reused for different
machines.

Example of Assembly Language Code

Below is an example of Netwide Assembler (NASM)
assembly language code. [1]

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Example of Assembly Language Code.

Loyola Marymount University

In this example, the SYSCALL instruction towards the

end of the code triggers the portion of memory
where the operating system services are stored.
Then, the code RAX is used to call for code to be
written, then RDI to exit. The SYSCALL function is
used twice to invoke the operating system as well as
to indicate to the system when the code is finished
and it is time to exit.

What Is an Example of an Assembly

Language?
The most commonly used assembly languages
include ARM, MIPS, and x86.

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Is C++ an Assembly Language?

C++ is not comprised of assembly code. The C++
computing language consists of C++ code which a
compiler translates into an executable machine
code.

Is Python an Assembly Language?

Python is more advanced than assembly languages.
Assembly languages are considered a low level
language, while high-level languages such as C,
Java, or Python use 0's and 1's instead of numbers,
symbols, and abbreviations.

How Are Assembly Languages Used

Today?
Though considered lower level languages compared
to more advanced languages, assembly languages
are still used. Assembly language is used to directly
manipulate hardware, access specialized processor
instructions, or evaluate critical performance issues.
These languages are also used to leverage their
speed advantage over high level languages for time-
sensitive activities such as high frequency trading.

The Bottom Line

Assembly language is low-level code that relies on a
strong relationship between the instructions input
using the coding language and how a machine
interprets the code instructions. Code is converted
into executable actions using an assembler that
converts input into recognizable instructions for the
machine. Though prevalent in the early days of
computing, many larger systems use higher-level
languages.

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