What is Machine code?
'''Machine code''' is a computer program written in machine language. It uses the [[instruction set]] of a particular [[computer architecture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/machine_language.html|publisher=Webopedia|title=What is machine language?|date=September 1996 |access-date=2010-04-24}}</ref> It is usually written in [[Binary number|binary]].<ref>{{cite web|title=What is Machine Code?|url=http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-machine-code.htm|publisher=Wise Geek|access-date=2010-04-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=What is machine code|url=http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci212507,00.html|publisher=Whatis.com|access-date=2010-04-23|archive-date=2010-05-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504192343/http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci212507,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Machine language - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary|publisher=Merriam-Webster|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/netdict/machine+language|access-date=2010-04-24}}{{Dead link|date=October 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/m/machlang.htm|publisher=Computer Hope|title=Machine language|access-date=2010-04-24}}</ref> Machine code is the lowest level of [[software]]. Other programming languages are translated into machine code so the computer can execute them. An instruction tells the process what operation to perform. Each instruction is made up of an [[opcode]] (operation code) and [[operand]](s). The operands are usually [[memory address]]es or data. An [[instruction set]] is a list of the opcodes available for a [[computer]]. Machine code is what [[Assembly language|assembly code]] and other [[programming languages]] are [[compiled]] to or interpreted as. [[Compiler|Program builders]] turn code into another language or machine code. Machine code is sometimes called '''native code'''. This is used when talking about things that wo