5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Machine Language | Limitations & Benefits of Machine Language

Machine language is a low level language which uses binary system to understand human inputs. The computers are only capable of interpreting electrical signals. Hence, signals are provided in the form of electrical pulses. 

A set of binary numbers in the form of 1s and 0s are used to represent machine language. The digits 1s and 0s are utilized based on the presence or absence of electrical pulses. 

 

Most advanced tasks accomplished by a computer is directly through the understanding of 1s and 0s. No matter which high level language is used, it must be converted to machine language first. If not, simply there cannot be any execution of statements. Al though it is not much in practice today, the use of machine language has many benefits to a computer. So you must have a solid idea of what is machine language and understand the benefits and drawbacks of this concept.

 

In this article, let's look at the 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Machine Language | Limitations & Benefits of Machine Language. From this post, you will know the pros and cons of machine language.

Let's get started,

Advantages of Machine Language

1. Execution Speed

Execution of machine language takes place inside the CPU. Therefore, there is no requirement for translating instructions from a source to machine code. Since machine language lacks conversion, the execution of code is significantly faster. 

2. Less Memory

Machine language is a kind of low level language which directly interacts with the computer's hardware. As it takes less time for execution, machine languages are highly memory efficient. Unlike high level languages, machine language does not require extra memory space.

3. Adaptability

Any given processor implements only one of machine language, due to the fact that it is the most basic language. Machine language is universal considering individual machines. However, depending on the hardware vendor the type of machine language used can vary. Because, the architecture used to build devices differ.

4. Translator Dependency

All programming languages except machine language require a translator before feeding them into a computer. Machine language don't depend on any translator. As there is no translators involved, it disregards compilation and interpretation time. 

5. Memory Access

Fast data transmission is critical. Especially, for applications that used real time data processing. This is achieved with the help of machine language. Machine language is capable of providing direct memory access allowing devices to directly interact with the main memory. 

Disadvantages of Machine Language

1. Complexity

For an average human machine language is too complex to understand. This is because the instructions are present in the form of binary codes. For instance, if a programmer has to write a machine language directly, it makes almost impossible for other programmer to understand them. Moreover, the complexity also increases as the number of instructions mount.

2. Human Errors

Machine language is also more susceptible to errors. Even to write a simple program, the programmers must keep track of codes and memory locations. Otherwise, debugging to spot errors can be challenging. On comparison to other languages, machine language merely consists of binary digits which requires super human effort to read and understand.

3. Maintenance

Overtime, maintenance of machine language gets difficult. Without sufficient low level programming knowledge, programmers cannot maintain the code. Sometime the process of modification is so tedious that some programmers tend to rewrite the entire program from the scratch.

4. Suitability

As mentioned earlier, machine language is a low level programming language which works at the hardware level. Therefore, it is not suitable to applications those are high in complexity. And also, compared to other programming languages, machine language offers limited functionalities. 

5. Technical Expertise

Considering the intensity of code, programming in low level languages is tough. In addition to remembering all the operational codes and memory addresses, programmers must also learn about the computer architecture of a specific machine.