machine language
American Heritage Dictionary:
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machine language
n.
A set of instructions for a specific central processing unit, designed to be usable by a computer without being translated. Also called machine code.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
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machine language
Elemental language of computers, consisting of a string of 0s and 1s. Because machine language is the lowest-level computer language and the only language that computers directly understand, a program written in a more sophisticated language (e.g., C, Pascal) must be converted to machine language prior to execution. This is done via a compiler or assembler. The resulting binary file (also called an executable file) can then be executed by the CPU. assembly language.
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Computer Desktop Encyclopedia:
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machine language
The native language of the computer. In order for a program to run, it must be presented to the computer as binary-coded machine instructions that are specific to that CPU model or family. Although programmers are sometimes able to modify machine language in order to fix a running program, they do not create it. Machine language is created by programs called "assemblers," "compilers" and "interpreters," which convert the lines of programming code a human writes into the machine language the computer understands.
Machine languages differ substantially. What may take one instruction in one machine can take 10 instructions in another. See RISC.
What and Where
Machine language tells the computer what to do and where to do it. When a programmer writes TOTAL = TOTAL + SUBTOTAL, that statement is converted into a machine instruction that tells the computer to add the contents of the two areas of memory where TOTAL and SUBTOTAL are stored and put the result in TOTAL.
Logical Vs. Physical
A programmer deals with data logically, "add this, subtract that," but the computer must be told precisely where this and that are located. See hardware platforms, assembly language, interpreter and RISC.
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Barron's Business Dictionary:
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machine language
Instructions that a computer can execute directly. Machine language statements are written in a binary code, and each statement corresponds to one machine action. Programs are efficient to run, but the absence of words in commands makes for difficult programming.
| MUD, MIX, MAP | |
| Machine Readable, Machine Scanning, Macintosh |
Mosby's Dental Dictionary:
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machine language
n
A language designed for interpretation and use by a computer system without translation. Also called machine code.
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categories related to 'machine language'
- Software, Languages, and Programming - machine language: binary code language that can be directly executed by CPU; basic language understood by computer
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Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia
THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2012 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2012 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Barron's Business Dictionary
Dictionary of Business Terms. Copyright © 2007 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Mosby's Dental Dictionary
Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
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