Main index

Introducing UNIX and Linux

The Computing Environment

Overview
What is a Computer?
Hardware
      Processors
      Input Devices
      Output Devices
Software
      Input and Characters
            Control Characters
      Application Programs
            Programming Languages
      The Operating System
      System Administration
History of UNIX and Linux
Conventions
Summary

Programming Languages

The processing units inside a computer understand a language called machine code, and all the calculations a computer performs use this code. Machine code, which is a 'low-level' language, is specific to the particular make and model of computer on which it runs, and is not designed to be read by humans. Any instruction given to a computer must be translated (somehow) to machine code before the computer will understand it. It is unlikely you will ever need to come into direct contact with machine code.

Typically, programs are written in high-level languages that are easily readable by humans, but not by computers. They require compilers and interpreters to perform a translation into the machine code that computers can understand.