Module 1 · Introduction to Programming · Lesson 4 of 7

Machine language vs high-level language

Deep down, a processor only understands one thing: machine language — long strings of 0s and 1s, each pattern standing for a tiny operation. It's what runs, but it's almost impossible for a human to read or write directly.

So instead we write in a high-level language like Python — close to human language, readable, and not tied to any one kind of processor. One clear line like print("Hi") stands in for a great many machine instructions.

But the computer can't run high-level code as-is — it still has to become machine language somehow. That translation step is the subject of the next lesson.