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Low-level programming languages resemble binary code and require knowledge of the CPU. They allow for fine control over system resources but are time-consuming and costly to develop.
There is some disagreement regarding the exact definition of a low-level programming language, but all definitions share some things in common regarding the characteristics of such a computer language. Such characteristics include: resemblance to binary code, required knowledge of the role of the central processing unit (CPU), and the ability of the programmer to control hardware via language. Some people consider any computer language to be low-level if it is not similar to a language spoken by people. Others consider any language that requires the programmer to understand the intricate and highly complex workings of the CPU as a low-level language. It should be remembered that a truly low-level programming language generally fits all of these descriptions.
Binary code, also called machine code, is the only language that the CPU, or “brain” of a computer, understands and “speaks.” Machine code, when viewed by a person, looks like many sequences of the numbers 1 and 0; they represent a state of being turned on or off, just like a light being turned on or off. The code of a high-level programming language would be very different from machine code in that it contains actual symbols and words that are used in a language, usually English, that people speak. That doesn’t mean, however, that someone who isn’t a computer programmer would understand code in a high-level language any more than they would a low-level one.
Among the major advantages of a low-level programming language is the ability and freedom to exercise fine control over things like memory usage and processing time. This means that programs written in a low-level language should make very efficient use of system resources, which can be highly desired when coding for very resource-constrained systems. Such an advantage doesn’t come without a price. Developers and engineers coding in a low-level programming language must have a good understanding of CPU functions to write instructions that affect memory and processing times.
Coding in a low level programming language is extremely time consuming and tedious. This understandably increases the cost involved in developing a program in that language, since the equivalent of just two lines of code in a high-level language can take up to 20 lines in a low-level programming language. Such slow development makes low-level languages mostly suitable for very small programs. They are almost never used for developing larger programs.
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