Assembler is a type of computer program that interprets software programs written in assembly language into machine language, code and instructions that can be executed by a computer. It enables software and application developers to access, operate and manage a computer’s hardware architecture and components. This is sometimes referred to as the compiler of assembly language. It also provides the services of an interpreter.
An assembler primarily serves as the bridge between symbolically coded instructions written in assembly language and the computer processor, memory and other computational components. An assembler works by assembling and converting the source code of assembly language into object code or an object file that constitutes a stream of zeros and ones of machine code, which are directly executable by the processor.
These are classified based on the number of times it takes them to read the source code before translating it; there are both single-pass and multi-pass assemblers. Moreover, some high-end assemblers provide enhanced functionality by enabling the use of control statements, data abstraction services and providing support for object-oriented programming structures.
In computer programming, assembly language (or assembler language), sometimes abbreviated asm, is any low-level programming language in which there is a very strong correspondence between the instructions in the language and the architecture’s machine code instructions. Because assembly depends on the machine code instructions, every assembly language is designed for exactly one specific computer architecture. Assembly language may also called symbolic machine code.
What is the use of assembler?
The Assembler is use to translate the program written in Assembly language into machine code. The source program is an input of an assembler that contains assembly language instructions. The output generated by the assembler is the object code or machine code understandable by the computer.
How does the assembler work?
An assembler is a program that converts assembly language into machine code. It takes the basic commands and operations from assembly code and converts them into binary code that can be recognized by a specific type of processor. Assemblers are similar to compilers in that they produce executable code.
What are the features of assembler?
- Unified Assembly Language (UAL) for both ARM and Thumb code.
- Vector Floating Point (VFP) instructions in ARM and Thumb code.
- Directives in assembly source code.
- Processing of user-defined macros.
Why should I learn assembly language?
Assembly language gives you complete control over the system’s resources. Much like an assembly line, you write code to push single values into registers, deal with memory addresses directly to retrieve values or pointers.
How difficult is assembly language?
However, learning assembly isn’t much more difficult than learning your first programming language. Assembly is hard to read and understand. It’s also quite easy to write impossible-to-read C, Prolog, and APL programs. With experience, you will find assembly as easy to read as other languages.
Is assembly language a programming language?
An assembly language is a type of low-level programming language that is intend to communicate directly with a computer’s hardware. Unlike machine language, which consists of binary and hexadecimal characters, assembly languages are design to be readable by humans.
What are the assembler directives?
Directives are instructions use by the assembler to help automate the assembly process and to improve program readability. Examples of common assembler directives are ORG (origin), EQU (equate), and DS. B (define space for a byte). Directives are use essentially in a pre-processing stage of the assembly process.
Do hackers use assembly language?
Assembly language helps a hacker manipulate systems straight up at the architectural level. It is also the most appropriate coding language to build malware like viruses and trojans. Assembly is also the go-to choice if you want to reverse engineer a piece of software that has already been compiled.
Which software is use for assembly language programming?
These include MASM (Macro Assembler from Microsoft), TASM (Turbo Assembler from Borland), NASM (Netwide Assembler for both Windows and Linux), and GNU assembler distributed by the free software foundation.
