Program Assemblers
Bernd Burgstaller, Bernhard J. Scholz · Wiley Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Engineering · 2009
Abstract The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer executes instructions encoded as a sequence of binary numbers. This program representation is commonly referred to as machine code. Assembly languages provide mnemonic abbreviations for the instructions of a computer. Program assemblers translate assembly language programs into machine code and binary data. Program assemblers allow the use of symbolic addresses (labels) to save the assembly language programmer from the tedious task of computing memory addresses manually. Macros provide textual substitution facilities. Pseudoinstructions, code optimizations, and just‐in‐time assembly complicate the task of program assemblers even more.