Assembly Code vs. Machine Code vs. Object Code vs. Executable Code

by | May 31, 2022 | Featured, Reverse Engineering

Computer programs written in higher-level languages like Python or Java are human-friendly and easy to understand. But, a computer CPU does not understand high-level languages. So, the high-level language needs to be translated into machine code.

A machine code instruction is a string of 0’s and 1’s. It can be understood by a computer CPU. A machine code instruction instructs a CPU to perform certain tasks like loading data into registers, storing data into a memory location, performing some arithmetic or logical operation, etc. These machine code instructions can be understood by a computer CPU, but they are not human-friendly. They cannot be read by humans so easily. So, we need assembly language for this purpose.

In assembly language, each machine code instruction is replaced with symbolic names. As a result, they are much more human-readable.

Now, when we compile a program written in a high-level language, we generate binary. But, the generated binary may not be ready to run by the computer CPU. If the program written in high-level language uses headers or libraries, those headers and libraries need to be linked with the generated binary. The binary file that is yet to be linked with the headers and libraries is called an object file.

An object code is written in machine code or in some code using an intermediate language such as Register Transfer Language (RTL). A linker takes object code as input, links it with required libraries and headers, and generates machine code that can be loaded into system memory and executed.

The machine code that can be readily loaded into system memory and executed, is called an executable. A loader takes an executable code and loads it into system memory. It also initializes CPU registers, and stacks, and prepares the code for execution.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Calculate the pseudoinverse of a matrix using Python

What is the pseudoinverse of a matrix? We know that if A is a square matrix with full rank, then A-1 is said to be the inverse of A if the following condition holds: $latex AA^{-1}=A^{-1}A=I $ The pseudoinverse or the Moore-Penrose inverse of a matrix is a...

Cholesky decomposition using Python

What is Cholesky decomposition? A square matrix A is said to have Cholesky decomposition if it can be written as a product of a lower triangular matrix and its conjugate transpose. $latex A=LL^{*} $ If all the entries of A are real numbers, then the conjugate...

Tensor Hadamard Product using Python

In one of our previous articles, we already discussed what the Hadamard product in linear algebra is. We discussed that if A and B are two matrices of size mxn, then the Hadamard product of A and B is another mxn matrix C such that: $latex H_{i,j}=A_{i,j} \times...

Perform tensor addition and subtraction using Python

We can use numpy nd-array to create a tensor in Python. We can use the following Python code to perform tensor addition and subtraction. import numpy A = numpy.random.randint(low=1, high=10, size=(3, 3, 3)) B = numpy.random.randint(low=1, high=10, size=(3, 3, 3)) C =...

How to create a tensor using Python?

What is a tensor? A tensor is a generalization of vectors and matrices. It is easily understood as a multidimensional array. For example, in machine learning, we can organize data in an m-way array and refer it as a data tensor. Data related to images, sounds, movies,...

How to combine NumPy arrays using horizontal stack?

We can use the hstack() function from the numpy module to combine two or more NumPy arrays horizontally. For example, we can use the following Python code to combine three NumPy arrays horizontally. import numpy A = numpy.array([[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6], [7, 8, 9]]) B =...

How to combine NumPy arrays using vertical stack?

Let’s say we have two or more NumPy arrays. We can combine these NumPy arrays vertically using the vstack() function from the numpy module. For example, we can use the following Python code to combine three NumPy arrays vertically. import numpy A = numpy.array([[1, 2,...

Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) using Python

What is Singular Value Decomposition (SVD)? Let A be an mxn rectangular matrix. Using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), we can decompose the matrix A in the following way: $latex A_{m \times n}=U_{m \times m}S_{m \times n}V_{n \times n}^T $ Here, U is an mxm matrix....

Eigen decomposition of a square matrix using Python

Let A be a square matrix. Let’s say A has k eigenvalues λ1, λ2, ... λk. And the corresponding eigenvectors are X1, X2, ... Xk. $latex X_1=\begin{bmatrix} x_{11} \\ x_{21} \\ x_{31} \\ ... \\ x_{k1} \end{bmatrix} \\ X_2=\begin{bmatrix} x_{12} \\ x_{22} \\ x_{32} \\ ......

How to calculate eigenvalues and eigenvectors using Python?

In our previous article, we discussed what eigen values and eigenvectors of a square matrix are and how we can calculate the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a square matrix mathematically. We discussed that if A is a square matrix, then $latex (A- \lambda I) \vec{u}=0...

Amrita Mitra

Author

Ms. Amrita Mitra is an author, who has authored the books “Cryptography And Public Key Infrastructure“, “Web Application Vulnerabilities And Prevention“, “A Guide To Cyber Security” and “Phishing: Detection, Analysis And Prevention“. She is also the founder of Asigosec Technologies, the company that owns The Security Buddy.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Not a premium member yet?

Please follow the link below to buy The Security Buddy Premium Membership.

Featured Posts

Translate »