Computers work with binary language, composed only of 0s and 1s, using their processor to perform operations and tasks. Initially, humans interacted with computers by giving them instructions in 0s and 1s, which was very cumbersome. That was until the first assembly language came along.
Assembly converts the mnemonic text, such as the word "MOV," symbolizing moving information in memory, into the actual 0s and 1s code that runs that instruction. The first assembly language came in 1947 and was invented by Kathleen Booth at the University of London. Different versions would emerge over the decades until IBM decided to standardize a version called the Generalized Assembly System, designed for the IBM 7090 computer.
Assembly freed programmers from memorizing complex binary sequences, allowing them to use understandable commands, which the computer translated into machine code. This innovation made programming faster, reduced errors, and paved the way for more complex software. Over time, higher-level languages like Python and Java made programming much easier and increased the number of programmers.
Most programmers today don’t know Assembly, which is only used in fields requiring precise hardware control, such as embedded systems and operating systems. But its most powerful contribution was enabling more human-understandable communication between humans and computers, which was a crucial step in making programming more accessible and powerful.
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