Generations of Programming Languages & Documentation

What is the primary characteristic of first-generation languages (1GL)?

• Uses mnemonics

• Uses binary instructions (0s and 1s)

• Uses human-like syntax

• Uses object-oriented principles

Why are first-generation languages considered machine-dependent?

• Each CPU has a unique instruction set

• They are written in high-level code

• They use English-like syntax

• They can be compiled across all hardware

What is an example of a first-generation language?

• C

• Assembly

• Machine code

• Java

What is one major disadvantage of first-generation languages?

• They are too user-friendly

• They are easy to debug

• They are difficult to read and write

• They require no hardware knowledge

What is an advantage of first-generation languages?

• They have slow execution speeds

• They use symbolic mnemonics

• They execute directly on hardware without translation

• They are portable across multiple systems

What is a key improvement of second-generation languages over first-generation languages?

• Uses mnemonics instead of binary

• Uses high-level programming concepts

• Can be written without an assembler

• Is completely hardware-independent

Which tool is required to convert assembly code into machine code?

• Compiler

• Assembler

• Interpreter

• Debugger

What makes assembly language easier than machine code?

• Uses binary numbers directly

• Uses human-like syntax

• Uses symbolic instructions (e.g., MOV, ADD)

• Runs without needing a CPU

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of assembly language?

• Uses mnemonics like MOV, ADD

• Requires an assembler

• Runs directly on hardware

• Is specific to a processor

What is a limitation of assembly language compared to higher-level languages?

• It is faster than machine code

• It is highly readable

• It is hard to debug and maintain

• It does not interact with hardware