A non-technical coworker asked me what is “assembly language.”
Analogy to the rescue. My reply:
Assembly Language is a very low level programming language that directly instructs the computer’s processing chip, memory an registers what to do. It’s the closest to hardware programmers ever get.
I’d be surprised if they still teach it in undergrad programs. Most languages used for most purposes today are high level, meaning each instruction translates to a whole lot of more specific assembly instructions.
As an analogy, if you were programming a human to walk, in a higher level language your first instruction might be “right_leg:step_forward,” in assembly you’d start with “motor_cortex:send_electric_charge_down_the_right_sciatic_nerve…”
It’s a whole other level of instruction granularity.
Seemed to make sense to her, so perhaps worth sharing?