2.5.1

Question 1

what are the types of languages?

Answer 1

-machine code
-low level language (assembly code)
-high level language (source code)

Question 2

describe machine code

Answer 2

-consists of strings of 1s and 0s
-instruction run inside the CPU for a particular processor that will understand and be able to process

Question 3

describe low level language (assembly code)

Answer 3

-made up of a predetermined set of commands that can be read by a person (ADD), each commands translates directly to a machine code number
-these commands are mnemonics used by people to easily understand computer instructions

Question 4

mnemonics

Answer 4

english words to represent binary oppcodes

Question 5

what are the pros of low level language?

Answer 5

-executes faster
-occupies less memory

Question 6

what are the cons of low level language?

Answer 6

-programmer needs to know a lot about hardware details inside CPU

Question 7

what are the two parts of the instructions for a microprocessor?

Answer 7

-oppcode: specifies the operation that has to be performed
-opperand: the data that has to be used or memory location

Question 8

describe high level language (source code)

Answer 8

-developed to make programming easier for people
-two main features: syntax and keywords

Question 9

what are the pros of high level language?

Answer 9

-faster program development
-machine independent (can be run on different computers)

Question 10

what are the cons of high level language?

Answer 10

-source code needs to be converted into machine code to be run in the CPU

Question 11

what does a translator do?

Answer 11

translates high level languages into machine code

Question 12

what are the types of translators?

Answer 12

-assembler
-compiler
-interpreter

Question 13

assembler

Answer 13

converts assembly language into machine code

Question 14

interpreter

Answer 14

doesn’t translate entire source code in one go (line by line translation)

Question 15

pros of interpreter

Answer 15

-errors show immediately
-takes up less memory

Question 16

cons of interpreter

Answer 16

-slower compared to compiler
-interpreter must always be present

Question 17

compiler

Answer 17

reads all the source code in one go into the form of an executable file

Question 18

pros of compiler

Answer 18

-more portable
-translates only once

Question 19

cons of compiler

Answer 19

-cannot change the program
-if there’s an error t carries on trying to compile the program