Page 199 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics
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MACHINE LANGUAGE         M
                            A computer does not work with words, or even with familiar base-10
                            numbers. Instead, the  machine  uses  combinations  of ones  and  zeros.
                            These are the two binary states, also represented by on/off, high/low, or
                            true/false. Data in machine language, if written down, looks like a string
                            of ones and zeros, such as 0110100100. This can be represented pictorially
                            by a graph as shown in the illustration.
                              When a computer operator writes a program, or a person issues a
                            command to a robot controller, it is done in a high-level language. This
                            must be converted into machine language for the computer. The computer
                            output is likewise translated from machine language into whatever high-
                            level language is used by the programmer or operator.
                              See also HIGH-LEVEL LANGUAGE.


                             Level
                         High





                          Low
                                 0    1   1    0   1    0   0    1    0   0


                                              1 bit

                         Machine language





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