Assembly Language
Assembly language is a low-level programming language that provides a symbolic representation of a computer's machine code instructions. It uses mnemonics (like MOV, ADD, JMP) to represent binary opcodes, making it more human-readable than raw machine code while still closely tied to the processor's architecture. It is typically used for direct hardware manipulation, performance-critical applications, and system programming where fine-grained control is essential.
Developers should learn assembly language when working on embedded systems, operating system kernels, device drivers, or performance optimization tasks where maximum efficiency is required. It is crucial for reverse engineering, security analysis (e.g., exploit development), and understanding how high-level languages compile down to machine code, providing insights into computer architecture and memory management.