what is an instruction? (for computers)
High-level programming languages allow you to store information as variables, define reusable functions, handle file operations, and perform tasks through loops and conditionals. These languages are designed to be understandable by humans, providing a helpful abstraction above what the computer directly understands: machine code.
Machine code is the binary representation of a program, consisting of a sequence of machine instructions and the data needed to execute the program effectively.
Specifically, these instructions directly control the operations of the computer's Central Processing Unit (CPU), enabling it to:
- Add two numbers together.
- Load data from memory.
- Jump to a specific instruction in the code (useful for loops and conditionals).
Understanding instructions gives us insight into how high-level code translates into precise actions performed by the hardware.